Lightning Strikes in Snow
by WolfSpirit21
Summary: Cassandra Flurry is a snow dragon slayer. She and Laxus fell in love years ago, but after an issue with his father, Laxus pushes her away and Cassie leaves until Natsu brings her back right before the Battle of Fairy Tail. We start there and who knows where we'll go. I suck at summaries, R&R but please no flames. LaxusXOC, other couples will crop up in later chapters.
1. PrologueChapter 1: Love the Way You Lie

**AN: I have to give credit to ****LittlePrincessNana**** for the songs for every chapter idea(and the format in including said song in the story itself), go read Sound Pod on Shuffle a seriously good fic :D. Anyways, I don't own anything except the story plot and my OC Cassie Flurry(yes I know not very creative on the last name, sue me). I've had this story in my head for a bit and I wanted a water based dragon slayer but not a straight up water dragon slayer, so we get a snow dragon. For reference on how she gets extra power, snowicewater, actual snow will give more power than ice which will give more power than just water. You follow? Anyways, link to the story playlist will be put on my bio page for anyone interested. This story starts just before the Battle of Fairy Tail. Also, I am only really familiar with the anime, just fyi. Chapter one's song is Love the Way You Lie Part 2 by Rhianna ft. Eminem.**

**AN #2: Edited slightly to reword some stuff and include a bit more information in the first bit.**

**AN #3: Edited again, because...well I realized she wouldn't really be a "little" girl, so that one word has been revised but I figured it best to note it for you guys.**

Prologue:

Cassandra "Cassie" Flurry was born in December, X763. She lived with her snow dragon mother, Tanith, learning snow dragon slayer magic until _that_ day, July 7, X777, when she disappeared like all the other dragons of Fiore. Soon after, Laxus Dreyar found the girl scavenging for food on the streets of Magnolia and brought her to his grandfather, Makarov, who offered her some food and a place in the guild. The two youngsters were inseparable up until Laxus's father, Ivan, was expelled from the guild, afterwards Laxus seemed to forget Cassie existed, breaking the young girl's heart. After that, Cassie was rarely seen around the guild, many followed Laxus's example and forgot she existed, but never the master nor Natsu, he would never forget a fellow Dragon Slayer. Every day the master hoped he'd see the young girl's face again and most days he was disappointed, that was until Natsu, Happy and Lucy ran into her when they went on a mission to a rather snowy region. This is where our story truly begins.

Chapter 1: Love the Way You Lie

**On the first page of our story/The future seemed so bright**

Cassie walked through the snow on the mountain, she had her boots slung over her shoulder with her coat. She only wore them when she was in public, for some reason a woman bare foot in two feet of snow was disconcerting, who knew? Cassie giggled to herself as she wiggled her toes in the snow. She always loved the snow, it reminded her of Tanith and her time with Laxus..._Nope, stop that right now, no thinking about him. It's been years, we're over it, no need to open up old wounds. _Cassie shook her head, her long black ponytail flying with the movement.

As she moved her head, Cassie caught a familiar scent upwind of her. "Natsu," she whispered and took a deep breath. _Three, two, one..._at the end of her mental count down she heard the crunching of the snow as Natsu tackled her into the snow.  
"Cassie!" the pink haired dragon slayer yelled as the rolled a few feet until he was sitting on her belly.  
"Hi, Natsu," she said laughing. "Still a little screw ball, I see." Cassie pushed the younger boy off of herself and stood, looking over to his blonde companion. "You gonna introduce me to your girlfriend here, Natsu, or have your manners not improved at all?"  
"She's not my girlfriend!" Natsu said. "Anyways, Cassandra Flurry, meet Lucy Heartfilia, Lucy this is Cassandra, or just Cassie."  
"How do you two know each other?" Lucy said. Cassie sighed and pulled down the collar of her shirt, showing her yellow Fairy Tail emblem over her heart.  
"I'm usually gone on long term S-class missions, so I don't come around the guild hall much," she said quietly. Lucy knew there was more to the story there and looked to Natsu, but he just shook his head and looked down at the snow. Cassie plastered a smile across her face, but Lucy could see the pain behind her ice blue eyes, but decided not to question her about it. "Anyways, what are you guys doing up here?" Cassie said and Natsu grinned.  
"We just finished a job in the village and...well I knew you hung out it places like this. The guild needs you home more Cassie, master really misses you." Cassie sighed.  
"Fine, I'll come home for a while." Natsu nodded and wrapped an arm around her shoulders and the other around Lucy.  
"Let's go!"

**But you'll always be my hero/Even though you've lost your mind  
**

Upon arriving, Natsu threw the doors to the guild hall open. "Hey! Master Makarov, look who I found!" he yelled, dragging Cassie by the arm.  
"Natsu, I can walk on my own you know," she grumbled, looking around at the older guild members and saw the recognition cross their faces. Master looked up from his place on the bar and tears welled in his eyes.  
"Cassandra?" he whispered and Cassie smiled at him.  
"Hey, gramps, long time," she said and hugged him. Gray stood, sans shirt.  
"Hey, snow girl!" he yelled. She looked over at him as he made a cannon and shot at her. Lucy's eyes went wide. Cassie just grinned and caught the projectile easily and started eating.  
"Thanks for the snack, ice brain." Gray grinned at her and with that the guild erupted into laughs and shouts. _So, they didn't completely forget about me, _she thought as she looked around. Cassie met Lucy's wide eyes and giggled. "I'm a snow dragon slayer, Luce." Lucy shook her head slightly and turned to talk to Mira about the upcoming Miss Fairy Tail contest.  
"Cassie, you gonna enter?" Mira asked the snow dragon, who shrugged.  
"I don't think so, I was never much into my looks." Cassie pointed to the faded scars over her right eye. "No one wants to look at these." Mira sighed, knowing not to press the issue. Lucy, however, looked closer at Cassie, noticing the scars that crisscrossed her eye and cheek bone for the first time.  
"How did that happen?" the blonde asked. Cassie sighed and turned her full attention to the young girl.  
"You don't want to know," she said and stood. "Hey gramps, my house still there on the edge of town?" The master nodded.  
"We never touched it." Cassie nodded and headed out.

The young woman wasn't used to being around so many people at once anymore, she could remember when she couldn't be without all the noise. _A lot of things have changed since then, _she thought and headed to her old home. _This place, obviously hasn't though. _Cassie grinned and started sweeping away the dust that had built up in her absence. She worked methodically, barely looking at pictures that she put out of sight and soon she was in her bedroom. She took a deep breath and opened the door, she thought she'd be prepared for the rush of memories but she wasn't.

The sheets hadn't been changed since that night, the last night that Laxus had acknowledged her. The last time he had kissed her, she hadn't changed those sheets for fear of completely losing him and when she knew she had anyway she had left and never come back. She hadn't even packed any clothes.

**So maybe I'm a masochist/I try to run but I don't wanna ever leave**

Cassie felt the tears slowly slide down her cheeks as she slowly opened her jewelry box and she froze. The necklace was missing, the one she'd given the Laxus all those years ago. The one he'd thrown at her after his argument with gramps. The one that she'd put a snow lacrima in, so that she would be able to know where he was if she needed to find him. Cassie carried the box over to her bed and dumped it out, searching through everything. _Who would have taken it? Gramps said they never touched this place. _Cassie sighed and put everything back, well except for one thing. She stood in front of the mirror and put on the black cord necklace Laxus had given her, her fingers brushed over the lightning lacrima the rested at the hollow of her throat and sighed. _I'm not over him. I don't think I'll ever be over him. _She sighed and slipped off her clothes and pulled on the Laxus's old shirt and boxers. She slid into bed and snapped her fingers, letting out just enough raw magic power to shut off the lights. She fell asleep with tear slipping from her eyes in silence.

The next day, Cassie woke, showered and got dressed, pulling on a black tank top and a black button up over it, leaving it open and rolling the sleeves up to her elbows. She slid into a pair of black leather pants and put on a pair of black ankle boots. _I'm honestly surprised I still fit into this stuff, _she thought as she sat at her vanity and put on her make up. The make up wasn't anything fancy, just foundation, eyeliner and mascara. She braided her hair and slipped her plain silver rings on her fingers and stood. _I'm going to make today a good day. _She thought as she left her house and headed into the guild hall.

Upon arriving, she approached Mira and ordered a beer. The white haired woman smiled and served her old friend, noting the necklace she wore but saying nothing. Everything was going fine, Cassie nearly choked on her beer when Lucy started her little cheer. She coughed as she watched but then her blue eyes went from amused to pissed in a millisecond. _Evergreen. _Cassie began to growl as Ever turned the celestial wizard into a statue then revealed the other contestants to have been turned to statues as well. Then there was a flash of lightning and the lacrima at her throat grew warm. _Laxus, you have better be here to take that bitch out. _Cassie should have known better though.

**Just gonna stand there and watch me burn/But that's all right because I like the way it hurts**

Cassie went numb, hearing the way Laxus talked. She stood and made her way to towards the stage, everyone got out of her way as frost started to form around her hands. "Laxus," she growled at the projection. "You unimaginable BASTARD!" she screamed at him. His projection smirked at her, but she could see the fear in his eyes.  
"So, the snow princess returns," he scoffed. "I'm surprised that you aren't a statue like all the others." He draped his arm over Lucy and Cassie felt the crack start in her heart. "And you're still wearing that stupid necklace I gave you." He smirked even as he unconsciously touched his chest and Cassie's eyes widened. _He went to my house and got it. _She met his eyes and she saw them melt a fraction before they hardened again. "Well, that thing isn't just useful as a tracker," he grinned as he flicked a finger and she felt electricity lock up all her muscles and everything went black.

**...i****n the aftermath of the/Destructive path that we're on, two psychopaths but we/Know that no matter how many knives we put in each others backs/That we'll have each others backs, 'cause we're that lucky**

Laxus stood in the cathedral and felt a chill to his core. He'd just hurt his former lover, the one he thought was never coming back. _Because you were stupid. No, my father hurt her, I couldn't protect her and he hurt her and I couldn't face her after that. _Laxus took a few deep breaths and touched the snow lacrima hidden beneath his shirt, the source of the chill that just wouldn't leave him. Part of him, the part that he didn't admit still existed, was still in love with that black haired dragon slayer, had never stopped loving her. That part had been so happy to see her in the guild hall again, but then he saw those scars on her face and he remembered why he had forced her away. He remembered why he had hurt them both so much.

**'Cause with you I'm in my fuckin' mind, without you I'm out it  
**

**AN: Well there's chapter one. Don't worry, next chapter will clarify a lot of things, but first we must get through the Battle of Fairy Tail. Also, I will be following the store line for the most part until after the GMG but there will be obvious time skips and added bits because this is a LaxusXOC and dragon slayer centric fic so, yeah. Oh and I will make sure to put any trigger warnings and such at the beginning of chapters(should I feel they're necessary). And one last thing, I have a general idea of where this is going but not a specific plan, I'm on this ride just as much as you are, dear readers. Well that's enough from me.**

**~Wolfspirit21**


	2. Chapter 2: Sound the Bugle

**AN: I do not own Fairy Tail or the song. Chapter two's song is Sound the Bugle by Bryan Adams from the movie Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. As always the link to the playlist is on my profile page, and you might even get some spoilers on some of the other music I'll be using for later chapters. Enjoy. Updates will be sporadic, because I'll get bursts of inspiration and I can't just let a chapter sit "burning a hole in my pocket" for a weeks or more, just as a warning for you guys.**

Chapter 2: Sound the Bugle

**Sound the bugle now - play it just for me**

Laxus stood with his arms crossed, watching the score board as more and more of the weaklings were taken out. He hadn't seen Cassie's name up there at all, meaning he must have done more damage than he thought. The chill became a stabbing cold for a moment before it subsided. Laxus ignored the pain and waited patiently. _Soon the old man won't have a choice. _He grinned, but then it turned to a grimace when Bickslow, Evergreen and Freed were defeated. The pain started again and he grabbed his chest. "Cassie," he whispered, grabbing the lacrima as the cold began to burn him. _You still love her, _that little voice in his head said. _You wanted to protect her and now you're the one that's hurt her. _Laxus growled and pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind. He couldn't worry about that, right now his priority was taking over the guild. So, Laxus initiated the Thunder Palace and waited.**(AN: And time skip because I don't want this to be a fight heavy fic.)**

**As the seasons change - remember how I used to be  
**

Cassie woke in the infirmary after everything died down. The master was sitting in the bed beside her. "What happened?" she asked softly.

"Natsu and Gajeel beat Laxus." Cassie nodded, clenched her fist and felt the cold metal of Laxus's necklace. She looked down at it and tears slid down her cheeks. "Laxus came by, he left you that...I had to expel him for what he did to the guild." She nodded again. "You're healed enough to go home," he said, a little reluctant to see her leave the guild hall. The last time Laxus had left the necklace, Cassie disappeared.

Cassie turned in the bed and put her bare feet on the floor. Her boots sat next to the bed and she slowly slipped them on and stood. "Cassandra, do me a favor?" Makarov waited for her to turn her head in his direction. "Don't leave us again and forgive Laxus, he hasn't been himself since...that day." Cassie waved her hand, something she'd picked up from Laxus, to acknowledge him and headed home.

When she arrived home she turned her stereo on and sat on her couch, staring at the necklace sitting on her coffee table. _I don't want to read his goodbye, _she thought sadly, rather she stood and grabbed a photo album that held her pictures from when she was little. She sat back down and started flipping through the pages. She stopped on the last page, the picture of the two of them in front of Fairy Tail was gone. Tears slid down her cheeks and she let the book slide off her lap. _Laxus, you romantic, sentimental, stupid bastard. _The thoughts kept running through her head as the music played in the background and her door slowly creaked open, revealing the man himself with a broken look in his eyes.

**Sound the bugle now - tell them I don't care/ There's not a road I know - that leads to anywhere/ Without a light I fear that I will stumble in the dark/ Lay right down - decide not to go on **

Laxus stood outside her door, debating whether to knock or to just leave. He made his decision when he could smell the salt from her tears, he slowly opened her door and saw her sitting on the couch, a photo album on the floor. _She must have been looking through it, when she started crying. _He walked in and picked it up, seeing what had caused her tears, the place where a picture should have been. The picture he'd taken when he came for the necklace, when he thought he'd chased her off for good. "I'm doing it again," he whispered to her as he sat and she buried her face in his chest, taking in the smell of electricity and chocolate, his smell, a smell she missed so much.

"You stupid," she punched him in his gut. "Stupid man." Laxus grunted softly when she punched him but didn't do anything else, he just held her.

"Cassandra, I need to tell you..." Cassie smacked him before he could finish his sentence.

"I don't want a goodbye," she said looking down at her hands and he laughed softly, he put his finger under her chin and gently lifted her face to his.

"This isn't a goodbye," he said softly, gently loosening her braid. "This is sorry." He combed his fingers through her hair, absorbing her scent of mint and blackberries. "For everything I've done to you, every pain I've caused you. Starting with this." He wiped the make up away from the scars, revealing the extent of them that she hid from everyone else. "I should have kicked Ivan's ass for doing this to you," he whispered gently running his fingertips over the scars.

"Why?" she whispered. "Why did you stop looking at me after that?" Laxus sighed and his hand dropped to hers, where she was playing with the rings on her fingers.

"I still looked at you, Cassie...but I couldn't face you. I...I couldn't face the fact that I couldn't protect you from him...then he was expelled and I got so angry...I didn't want you to see that so I shoved you away." He gently took her hand and looked in her eyes. "That's the other thing I need to apologize for, I know I broke your heart. I'm so sorry for every pain you've ever had because of me." He stood and turned away. "I don't deserve your love, so just...let go, for your own sake."

"No," she said simply, gripping the hand he was trying to move away from hers. She stood in front of him and pulled his head to look at her. "You don't get to decide what's good for me, not concerning yourself. I forgive you for everything, just don't ask me to stop loving you. I can't, I just can't." Laxus looked down at her.

**Then from on high - somewhere in the distance/ There's a voice that calls, "Remember who you are"/If you lose yourself - your courage soon will follow**

"You are an amazing woman," he whispered. "But I can't stay, gramps exiled me, I'm not allowed back in Magnolia for a while." Cassie smiled and lifted his hand to her cheek.

"Technically speaking, we're not in Magnolia," she said, kissing his palm. Laxus leaned down and kissed her slowly gently asking for entry with his tongue. She parted her lips and his tongue slid over hers, he pulled her body against his and wondered at how she still fit so perfectly against him. Cassie dug her fingers into his hair as she subconsciously moved against him. Laxus suddenly broke the kiss and took a step back.

"Not yet, snow princess," he said, touching her scars again. "I still need to put my head on straight." Cassie sighed but nodded, she reached over and picked up his necklace, putting it on him.

"Keep this please," she said, slipping it beneath his shirt. Laxus smiled and touched the lacrima hanging at her throat.

"Never alone," he whispered and kissed her once more before he turned and left.

Cassie followed him to her door and watched as he left, lifting his hand in his half assed wave as always. She smiled and lifted her hand to him then closed the door.

**...that's worth fighting for**

**AN: So there's chapter two, a little short but it just felt right to end it there. Review, follow, favorite? Chapter 3: Let Her Go. We'll be doing a time skip to the S-class trials so I don't have to try to write Cassie into most major battles. She will be gone on an S-class mission far away from most of the action until the trials. The actual plot of this story will start after the GMG, which is where all canon time line goes out the window. Until next time.**

**~Wolfspirit21**


	3. Chapter 3: Let Her Go

**AN: [insert disclaimer here] Song title: Let Her Go by Passenger performed by Collabro. I just realized I messed up the time line a bit, so I'm going to say that Ivan was kicked out about a year after Laxus made S-class(from what I understand from the wiki he was actually kicked out before Laxus made S-class but for my story's purpose I'm tweaking it slightly) and about a month before Cassie made S-class, just so that is cleared up.**

Chapter 3: Let Her Go

**Staring at the bottom of your glass/Hoping one day you'll make a dream last/But dreams come slow and they go so fast **

Cassie walked into the guild hall after completing her S-class mission. She smiled at the others as she sat down at the bar. "So, Mira, what happened while I was gone?" she asked as the white haired beauty set a beer down in front of her.

"Well, there was the Nirvana incident and that stuff with Edolas..." Cassie listened as Mira went into all the details, sipping at her beer and surveying the guild hall. She nearly spilled her beer when she felt a little hand tug on the sleeve of her(okay her borrowed from Laxus a long time ago) shirt. She looked down to see a girl with dark blue hair.

"Hi," Cassie said with a smile.

"Oh, hi Wendy," Mira said brightly. Wendy smiled at the two women.

"You're Cassie right?" she asked and Cassie nodded. "You're a dragon slayer too right?"

"Too?" Cassie said raising her eyebrow she must have missed that in Mira's recap of the last few months. She sniffed the little girl, catching the scent of autumn leaves and citrus. "Hmmph, guess I've officially lost the title of only female dragon slayer in Fairy Tail." Wendy giggled as she climbed up on a stool.

"So were you raised by a dragon too?" she asked the older woman. Cassie nodded.

"Her name was Tanith, she's the only parent I ever had." Wendy grinned and opened her mouth to say something when Carla landed on the bar grumbling about tom cats.

"Oh, this is Carla," Wendy said. "So, you're the oldest first generation dragon slayer right?" Cassie nodded.

"That's right, pipsqueak," she said tugging one of the girl's pig tails. "I've been a big sister to Natsu since we both joined so I guess I can tug you under my wing." Wendy grinned at the snow dragon. "And I guess, iron boy over there can talk to me if he really needs to," she raised her voice and grinned at Gajeel who huffed and stalked away. _I'm going to have to ask why he stares at me like I'm a puzzle to figure out one of these days. _Mira giggled and leaned on the bar, picking her recap back up for Cassie.

**Only know you've been high when you're feeling low**

Cassie sighed, sitting at the bar drinking another beer, watching her guild mates being...well being Fairy Tail. She glanced towards the Thunder Legion's table to see them being nearly as mopey as her. _At least I'm not the only one. _She looked over to see master sit on the bar next to her. "There's something I've been meaning to ask you child," he said.

"Shoot, gramps," she replied, sipping at her second beer of the day.

"The S-class trials are starting soon and I'd like your help for the second trial."

"Sure gramps, whose up for the trial?"

"Freed, Natsu, Gray, Elfman, Juvia, Levy, Cana and Mest." Cassie cocked her head at that last one but then shook off. _Probably just one of the new guys I haven't met yet. _"The other S-class wizards are heading out tonight after the announcement." Cassie nodded and downed the rest of her beer. "I'd like you to be there for the announcement."

"Of course, gramps, I wouldn't miss the look on Natsu's or Gray's face for the world." Master grinned at her and left to get everything prepped for the announcement.

Cassie sat there for a while, thinking back to her trial. She'd pushed herself to the absolute limit, hoping that if she proved to Laxus that she was still strong he'd stop being an ass and when he hadn't she'd left. She felt Mira touch her shoulder. "Time?" she asked and the white haired woman nodded. Cassie stood and followed her friend. She stood towards the back of the stage, watching Master announce the members up for S-class promotion, giggling a little at everyone's reaction to having to fight both Erza and Mira. _Well, I don't do much fighting in front of the others, so they wouldn't know to fear me. _She turned to leave when Guildarts gently put a hand on her shoulder.

"Well you've grown into quite the woman, Cassandra," he said. "You know, they should really be more worried about you than the others."

"Well, they don't realize that while those two love brute force, I like to use my brain which is just as deadly." Cassie grinned and gave the man a one armed hug. "Glad to see you still in one piece, old man."

"You too, squirt." He hugged her back. "So how are you doing? I heard about everything with Laxus."

"I'm alright, Laxus and I cleared the air a bit before he left, thought I haven't seen him since he left." She blushed, playing with the pendant at her throat.

"Don't worry, he's a tough son of a bitch and didn't you two say that those necklaces held a little piece of your hearts?" Cassie nodded. "Then he'll be back, and if he isn't I'll kick his ass for you as your honorary father." She giggled at that and pushed him.

"Alright, old man, enough with the sentimentality. We need to head out to Tenrou Island and make sure to have plenty of nightmares ready for those guys."

"Go on ahead, I'm sure you need to pack," he said and gave her a little push towards the door. "Just remember to pack light!"

"Tell that to Erza!" she said, lifting her hand in the gesture she and Laxus shared as she walked away. _I may just kick Laxus's ass on principle, _Guildarts thought as he headed to his home to pick up his bag.

**Staring at the ceiling in the dark/Same old empty feeling in your heart**

Laxus laid in a grungy hotel room, in some village that wasn't on any map. One hand was wrapped around the pendant that rested over his heart. _Cassie...damn I miss you. _His other hand held the picture he'd taken from her album. _Next time, I'll protect you, from everything. Next time I see you, I'll show you just how much I love you. _He brought the picture up to look at it, she was smiling at him, someone had snapped the picture just before he'd kissed her. The photographer caught a rare moment, the way the two looked at each other, anyone would know that they were so deep in love.

**'Cause you only need the light when it's burning low/Only miss the sun when it starts to snow/Only know you love her when you let her go**

He rubbed his thumb over her face and he could swear he caught a faint whiff of her scent. Mint and blackberries. He knew she was his meant to be his mate. He could feel every fiber of his being ache for her and he hoped she felt the same. _Well, I hope she still does when I come home. _Laxus closed his eyes and slid into a deep sleep, filled with her ice blue eyes, long black hair and intoxicating scent.

**Only know you've been high when you're feeling low/Only hate the road when you're missin' home/Only know you love her when you let her go**

**AN: Alright, Chapter 3 done, gotta tell you this one fought me a bit, that's another reason it's so short. Don't worry the next one I'm going to attempt to do some actiony bits :D. Next time on Lightning Strikes in Snow – Chapter 4: Monster. Please review, I need to know what you guys think of this, if my writing style is weird, if this story completely sucks, if you have any questions. Drop a review or a pm please.**

**~Wolfspirit21**


	4. Chapter 4: Monster

**AN: [insert disclaimer here] Chapter Song: Monster by Skillet. As always link to the playlist is on my profile page for those of you interested.**

Chapter 4: Monster

**The secret side of me/I never let you see **

Cassie slipped through the trees of Tenrou Island, she was going to have to get crafty here. _Why couldn't the trials be held somewhere cold? _She thought bitterly as sweat slid down her back. She wore a tight black tank top and form fitting shorts that ended at her mid thigh with a belt with a canteen and a pouch containing her communication lacrima, her hair was in a tight braid down her back and she didn't bother with shoes. She was setting up the forest for the second trial, finding the first master's grave where they would have to challenge her. She set several traps, some complex and others fairly simple. _Those should trip even Freed up, if he makes it through the first part of the trials. _She stopped to rest in a tree and pulled the communication lacrima out. "Hey, Guildarts," she said, brushing a few strings of hair that had escaped behind her ear. "How's it going there?"

"Master is giving them the run down for the second trial, finish up and get in position," the older man replied.

"So who made it through round 1?" she asked as she quickly crisscrossed her way through the forest to Master Mavis's grave.

"Natsu and Happy, Gray and Loke, Cana and Lucy, Levy and Gajeel and Elfman and Evergreen. Make sure to make it hard for them." Cassie laughed as she slid down into the clearing that held the grave.

"Oh, it's by no means easy to even get here, even before I laid those traps."

"You're having too much fun with this." Cassie shrugged and giggled darkly.

"I've decided, I'm going to show them why I don't get involved in the guild hall brawls." Guildarts chuckled.

"Well, I'm headed back to the mainland with Freed and Bickslow."

"Alright, tell Freed better luck next year. See yah, old man."

"Yeah, yeah, squirt." Cassie chuckled as she slipped the lacrima back into the pouch at her waist.

Makarov stood in front of the remaining five teams. "The second round of the S-class trials begins now. You are to locate the first master's grave here on Tenrou island. There you will encounter, Cassandra Flurry. She has been given free rein in the woods this past week, so you can bet that there are traps everywhere." Natsu and Gajeel looked at each other and grinned.

"This'll be easy!" Natsu yelled, lifting his nose to the wind.

"Idiot, do you really think she'd be stupid enough not to cover her tracks? Or lay false trails?" Gray said on a sigh. Gajeel shrugged and took Levy by the arm.

"Let's get going, shrimp." The teams split and headed out into the woods, wary of anything that could be a trap.

**I feel it deep within,/It's just beneath the skin/I must confess that I feel like a monster**

Soon after though, everything came crashing down. Grimoire Heart attacked and the master was seriously hurt. Cassie made her way through the woods, to the infirmary area, where the rest of the able bodied members had gathered. "Where the hell have you been?" Natsu growled. Cassie glared at the fire dragon.

"Making my way here, sorry that it took so long," she couldn't keep the growl out of her voice. In truth, she was terrified of losing what control she had. The two dragon slayers glared at each other until Wendy stepped between them.

"Stop it, we've gotta go after Hades," she said, looking between the two. Cassie nodded and turned to Lucy.

"You in, Luce?" The blonde nodded and the group turned to go as the lightning started. The lacrima at Cassie's throat grew warm and she smiled. _Laxus. _She looked down to see Pantherlily holding his ears down. "Don't worry, Lily," she said softly and they started running through through the forest towards the beach where Hades was waiting.

**My secret side I keep/Hid under lock and key/I keep it caged/But I can't control it **

On the way they met up with Erza and Gray, who joined the group. Three dragon slayers, three wizards and three Exceeds arrived on the beach. "Come, children of Makarov, show me your so called strength!" Cassie growled at the man's words and was right behind Natsu as they ran up the stairs Gray made. At the top, the battle commenced.

"Snow Dragon..."

"Sky Dragon..."

"ROAR!" Cassie and Wendy executed their spells, which were joined by Scorpio's attack and Natsu flew forward within them, but to no avail. Hades simply laughed at them, then the much older and more experienced wizard attacked. Cassie was the only one who could remain standing after the bombardment. She growled as the air grew cold around her, frost spreading from her bare feet and gathering in her hands. "You bastard, you hurt my family," she growled, the man laughed at her. "Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Arctic Blizzard Blast!" She roared at the man, flying towards him within a sheet of swirling snow and ice. Hades laughed and caught her by her braid.

"Pathetic," he sneered and threw her to the ground, bombarding her with his magic again. Cassie screamed in pain. "I will finish _you _now!" He gathered the energy for his spell and went to unleash it. _Laxus, I love you so much, _she thought closing her eyes. Then the smell of electricity and chocolate filled her nose as lightning struck Hades's hand, nullifying his spell. Cassie opened her eyes to see Laxus standing between her and Hades.

"Not like you to be defeated so easily, snow princess," he said, trying to be nonchalant about the whole thing. Those present thought could see the tension in his body and the worry in his eyes as they swept over her battered form, noting her having difficulty keeping her eyes open. _I was too late, again, but this time I can at least get even with the bastard that hurt her, _he focused on Hades. "Rest, snow, I've got this guy." Cassie smiled as she gave into the fatigue. Laxus snarled at the man in front of him. "You hurt my family. My mate." The last word was a guttural sound from deep in his throat as he attacked the man in front of him.

**I'm gonna lose control/Here's something radical/I must confess that I feel like a monster**

Cassie groaned as she came to, surrounded by the scent of electricity and chocolate. "Shh, beautiful, take it easy," Laxus's voice whispered in her ear. Cassie became aware of the familiar arms holding her against a familiar chest. The next thing she was aware of was a very ominous magic power.

"What's going on, Laxus?" she asked softly.

"Hades, I had to get you out of there. You just learned that secret art didn't you?" Cassie nodded. "Silly girl," he whispered and clutched her tighter as he stood at the place where the forest became beach. They smile as the huge ship exploded. "Natsu did it," he muttered. Cassie looked up at him. "I left him to avenge gramps and his big sister. Seemed only right since I'm not technically a Fairy Tail wizard anymore. Besides, I had to protect you from his destruction." Cassie smiled at him.

"Laxus, I l..." Laxus put a finger to her lips.

"Me first. I love you, Cassandra Flurry." Cassie smiled at him.

"I love you, Laxus Dreyar," she said, reaching up to touch his cheek. "My mate." Laxus's eyes widened. "We'll talk more about it later." He nodded and the two looked up as the great tenrou tree was repaired and her emblem began to glow. "I'm feeling better now, I think I can walk." Laxus gently set her down on her feet, watching as her toes curled in the sand. "We can't let Natsu get the last hit in on that bastard." Laxus grinned down at her and wrapped his arm around her waist, lightning surrounding the both.

"Hang on, beautiful," he said and she grinned as they transported and they both landed a punch on Hades's face.

"Come one, Fairy Tail, attack!" Cassie yelled. "Snow Dragon, wing attack!" she yelled and with that the others joined her and they finished the bastard off. After everything settled, Laxus stood with his arm around Cassie's waist. _I guess I'm alright with this feeling. _Cassie thought, looking up at him. _They've seen the monster inside of me, and they don't mind it. So I'm not going to worry about it anymore. _Laxus looked down at her and pulled his arm just a little tighter.

"LAXUS!" Makarov yelled as the rest of the members present on Tenrou Island approached the group. Laxus sighed and let go of Cassie.

"Gotta face the music," he muttered and turned to receive his grandfather's wrath for daring to set foot on Tenrou Island while still being expelled from the guild.

**I, I feel like a monster**

**AN: Ok, so apparently most of my chapters are going to be about this long, lol. I'm alright with that I guess. Next up, Chapter 5: Rebel Love Song. Please, drop me a review in the box or pm me. Thanks and see you next time.**

**~Wolfspirit21**


	5. Chapter 5: Rebel Love Song

**AN: [disclaimer about not owning stuff] Chapter Song: Rebel Love Song by Black Veil Brides. Link to playlist in profile. This is one of my longer chapters because I wanted to cover the time skip and such in one chapter. Warning: Lemon in the latter part of the chapter.**

Chapter 5: Rebel Love Song

**I cannot hide what's on my mind/I feel it burning deep inside/A passion crime to take what's mine/Let us start living for today **

Laxus and Cassie sat among the Thunder Legion back at camp, his arm gently around her waist. Bickslow opened his mouth to tease them and was promptly silenced by the lightning dragon's glare. He looked up when Guildarts approached and swallowed. "I'll be back," he whispered and stood. Guildarts silently walked away from the group, Laxus trailing after him. Laxus knew the old man treated Cassandra as a daughter and was prepared for a speech, but what he got when the old man turned to face him was a punch to the gut.

"That was for hurting Cassie all those years ago," he said grimly. "If you hurt her again, there won't be anything left of you understand?" Laxus nodded, clutching his stomach.

"Anything else, Guildarts?"

"Nope, just wanted to get that out of the way." Laxus nodded and the old man, who smiled back at the kid. "Now go hold her like you used to." Laxus grinned and walked back to Cassie but he couldn't resist pausing for a moment to look back.

"So, you gonna give Bickslow the same bit about Cana?" he quipped. Guildarts's eyes bugged out as the blonde walked away, grinning.

Cassie didn't question as Laxus sat behind her, gently pulling her into his lap. He smiled as she rested back against his chest and the two sat like that, listening to the others talk about what happened. Laxus gently pulled her hair out of it's braid and leaned forward. "So, mates huh?" he whispered his lips brushing her ear as he spoke. Cassie shifted so she could face him.

"Let me ask you something," she said quietly, the Thunder Legion had joined the rest of the members, leaving the two in relative seclusion. "When you were away, would you catch faint traces of my scent?" Laxus nodded. "Did it feel like your every fiber ached to come home to me?" He nodded again, moving his face closer to hers. "Then it seems fate has made it's choice," she whispered and kissed him gently. "When we get back home, we'll go through the rest of the process." Laxus growled, the beast inside him begging to take her now. Cassie made a purring noise and gently nipped his neck. "No more until we get home." Laxus groaned but nodded, then seemed to remember something. He adjusted her so he could get in his pocket.

"Close your eyes," he said and when she obeyed he pulled the ring from his pocket and slipped it on her thumb. It was silver with a simple engraving on it that said 'always'. Cassie opened her eyes and looked at it, smiling. "Happy birthday," he whispered. "You know, this doesn't mean I'm allowed back in the guild." Cassie nodded as she looked over at where gramps had disappeared to and saw Erza heading in that direction.

"Go on," she said. "You know what Erza is going to say and it would be better if you were there, she'll understand better." Laxus nodded and slid her off his lap and followed Erza.

**Never gonna' change my mind/We can leave it all behind/Nothin's gonna' stop us/No not this time  
**

Cassie sat, fiddling with her new ring absently when the odd sound reached her ears. _What the hell is that? _The sound made the hair on her arms and the back of her neck stand up and her muscles stiffened. She stood and looked over at Gajeel and Wendy, they seemed to hear it too but were playing it off as Lucy's belly. "That's not someone's stomach," she muttered turning to face the direction the sound was coming from when she heard a roar. "A dragon?" she said, looking over at the other dragon slayers, who met her gaze. _This cannot be good. _She moved in their direction as Guildarts approached with Cana, Lucy, Natsu and Happy. "Guildarts..." The man nodded.

"My wounds are burning, it's that dragon." Cassie and the others gulped as it flew into view.

"This one is definitely not friendly," she muttered, remembering the way Tanith used to be and this was definitely nothing like her mom.

Laxus came up behind her and put his arm around her waist protectively. "I'm afraid that's Acnologia," the master said as the rest of the group approached the dragon slayers. "The black dragon of the apocalypse." Everyone shivered, Laxus felt the instinct to shield Cassie from the creature but stopped himself, knowing that she was capable of holding her own in a fight. _She showed that when she stood up to Hades. If she hadn't been weakened from being out in the heat all day she would have been fine. _He looked down at her and she nodded.

"Hey, Gray, I'm going to need a snack," she said and the ice make wizard obliged her with a large ball of ice. "Thanks!" she said as she gulped down the meal before it melted. They all watched in horror as it landed and Laxus pulled Cassie close, angling his body to block her from it's roar.

"If you want to survive, head to the ship, now!" Guildarts yelled, wrapping his arm around Cana and glancing to make sure Laxus had Cassandra. "Now, run!" Erza directed everyone towards the ship and they all started to run. Cassie reached out and scooped up Wendy, who clung to the woman's front as they ran but were cut off by Acnologia.

"Damn it, it's cut off our escape route," Laxus growled pulling Cassie and Wendy behind him. Cassie looked around to see Gajeel do the same with Levy and Natsu with Lisanna.

"We're trapped, what are we going to do?" Levy whimpered. Cassie noted the look on Natsu's face and gently set Wendy down.

"We fight for our very survival," she whispered, moving to stand next to Laxus, Wendy on her other side.

They watched in awe as Makarov went titan form and grabbed the dragon. "Get to the ship," he said to those he considered his children and those children denied his request.

"No way in hell, gramps," Cassie said. "We aren't leaving you." Wendy nodded next to her. Laxus shook his head and touched Cassie's shoulder.

"We need to go," he whispered. Cassie stared at him in disbelief.

"Will you brats just go and honor your master's final wish?" Makarov growled at them. Natsu started yelling about how this was what he was born to do and Cassie wanted to join him but Laxus stopped them both. He grabbed Natsu by his scarf and drug him towards the ship, giving Cassandra a look as he passed her, tears sliding down his cheeks.

"Come on, Wendy," she said, scooping the child up in her arms. The others reluctantly followed as they all ran towards the ship. Gajeel scooping Levy up as she tripped and nearly fell.

"No, no way am I leaving gramps to die!" Natsu yelled, shaking Laxus off and running back towards the dragon. Everyone stopped for a moment, looking to the S-class wizards. Cassie stood, torn for a moment before turning and heading back.

"This is what Tanith trained me for after all," she said to Laxus as he kept pace with her.

"You're crazy you know that?" Cassie grinned at him.

"That's why you love me though," she giggled. "Now let's hit it with everything we've got!" she yelled as the ran past Makarov, who had been knocked out of titan form. Everyone jumped at the creature, hitting it with everything they had to offer.

"We didn't even scratch it," Laxus whispered. He looked over at Cassie, who nodded. He activated the lacrima for her, allowing her to move like he did with his lightning.

"Alright dragon slayers, let's hit it with everything we've got!" she yelled. Lily, Happy and Carla picked up their respective slayers and Cassie jumped up aided by the lightning.

"Snow dragon..."

"Iron dragon..."

"Sky dragon..."

"Fire dragon..."

"ROAR!" The four let loose their breath attacks, combining them as they Acnologia, sending the black dragon flying. Cassie touched back down with the others and watched as it got back up and flew up into the sky.

"Four dragon slayers and it still wasn't enough," Wendy said. Cassie looked down at her then back up at the creature.

"We need to get a defense up, Freed, Levy," Erza said. The two nodded.

"Everyone focus your magic power on them," Mira said.

"Holding hands will help," Lissana said, grabbing her sister's and Natsu's hands. The rest of the guild did the same, Cassie latching onto Laxus and Wendy, soon they all stood in a circle.

"Fairy Tail never gives up," Lucy whispered. The others nodded. Cassie grimaced as Acnologia released it's breath attack on them, Laxus's hand tightened on hers, brushing the ring he'd given her just minutes before.

**So take your hand in mine/It's ours tonight/This is a rebel love song  
**

X791

Cassie opened her eyes to Jet and Droy over her. "Huh...what are you guys doing here?" The two just shouted and hugged her for the brief moment Laxus allowed them before growling. The two moved away and he pulled Cassandra into a hug. "I'm alright, Laxus," she whispered, clinging to his chest. Laxus held her tight and the others gave them their space.

They listened intently as Master Mavis explained what happened and how they survived. Laxus refused to let go of Cassie through the whole thing as well as the boat ride back to the main land and then the train ride back to Magnolia. "Let's just head straight to my house," she whispered to him. Laxus nodded and kissed the top of her head. When they disembarked they said goodbye to the others, Cassie promising to come by the new guild hall the following day.

**When worlds collide what's left inside/I hold on tight and hear you pray  
Never gonna' change my mind/We can leave it all behind/Nothin's gonna' stop us/No not this time**

The two practically ran to her home at the edge of the woods. Cassie fumbled with her keys for a moment before her door opened to reveal her house with a seven year layer of dust. The two started coughing and the opened all of the windows, then got to cleaning. Cassie smiled at Laxus. "Thanks for helping me clean up," she said as she leaned against her counter, downing a glass of water. Laxus grinned down at her as he moved in front of her. She set the glass down and reached up to wrap her arms around his neck. Laxus wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I know exactly how you're going to repay me too," he whispered and kissed her. It started soft and slow but then Cassie moved her fingers to his hair and Laxus moved his hands down to cup her ass. Suddenly, they couldn't get enough of the other.

"Let your instincts do the work," she said when they broke for air. Laxus nodded and started pulling her towards her bedroom.

His tongue invading her mouth as she reached up and unbuttoned his shirt and slid it off of him, running her hands over his tattoos. He slid his hands under her tank top and pulled it up, breaking from her lips for a moment to pull it over her head. "I forgot how perfect you were," he whispered, sliding his hands over her wiry muscles and up to her breasts. Cassie sighed and pulled at his pants.

"This isn't the time for that," she growled, unbuttoning them. Laxus chuckled and slid her shorts and panties off her as she slid his pants and boxers off of him. He backed her up to her bed and pushed her down, pushing his knee between her legs and he kissed her neck. He nipped and licked at her flesh as she moaned. He slipped his other knee between her legs, reached down and gently guided himself into her waiting wet pussy. They both moaned as he stretched her and he started a gentle rhythm to get her body used to sex again.

"So tight," he whimpered, kissing her neck again as his hand reached up to caress her breast. Cassie moaned and tilted her head to the side to give him more access to her neck.

"I haven't been with anyone else," she whispered, gripping his back as he picked up the pace. Laxus started to bite her neck harder, started to leave marks and he felt the beast inside him rise up. _She said to let my instincts do the work, _he thought and gave into the beast.

Cassie moaned his name as he picked up the pace, realizing that the beast inside him had taken control. She adjusted her head forward and kissed his neck, moving her hips with his as she licked and nipped at him, causing him to twitch inside her. Cassie screamed his name and she bit down on the flesh where his neck and shoulder met just as he bit her in the same place. Laxus slammed into Cassie as he felt his magic power seep out into her as hers seeped into him. _So this is mating, _he thought as he groaned, he felt Cassie's walls tighten around his cock as she got close to her orgasm. He took the hand he was using to caress her breast and pinched her nipple, causing her and moan against his flesh. Neither could pull their mouths from the others flesh yet, and as Laxus picked up the pace he felt her get closer and closer as his flesh vibrated with her screams and moans. He slipped his hand down to her clit and rubbed, that pushed her over the edge as she moaned and her walls twitched around him. Laxus moaned as he slammed his hips forward, finishing inside her. Finally, as their bodies finished twitching from their orgasms they could remove their mouths. Laxus kissed the mark, and traced the lightning marks that spider webbed down over her heart and up her neck to her ear. Cassie observed the line of snowflakes that started small at the point she'd bitten him and grew larger are they trailed over his chest and stopped over his heart and then up his neck and curling to end at his nape. "We're mated for life now," she whispered, grinning as the marks flared slightly as she touched them then looked at her own mark. Laxus smiled at her and maneuvered them both under the sheets and pulled her so her head rested on his chest.

"Something tells me that I won't be traveling anymore," he said, stroking her hair. "I don't think my heart could take telling you goodbye again." Cassie smiled and snuggled into him.

"Good, because mine couldn't take hearing goodbye."

"Get some sleep, snow princess."

"You too, lightning prince." Laxus smiled and kissed the top of her head as he drifted off, his nose filled with that delectable scent of mint and blackberries.

**Hearts will sacrifice/It's do or die/This is a rebel love song**

**AN: And that's chapter 5. Stay tuned as we head to the GMG where we'll be revealing the threat to the dragon slayers and their mates. Next time Chapter 6: This is War. Until then.**

**~Wolfspirit21**


	6. Chapter 6: A Thousand Years

**AN: Don't own Fairy Tail, don't own the song and I am so not making any money off of this story. I decided on a different song that what I announced at the end of chapter five, simply because the more I wrote the more this chapter wanted to not be what I wanted it to be and so the song just no longer fit but I will be using This is War at some point, just not for this chapter. Chapter Song: A Thousand Years by Christina Perri performed by Collabro. Link to play list on my profile. Thanks to those that have reviewed. Also I'd like to note that all the music I'm using for this story I listen to on a daily basis, just a little fun fact for you to chew on. Also on my profile there is a link to a reference pic for Cassie's house. Now to the story!**

Chapter 6: A Thousand Years

**How can I love when I'm afraid to fall?/But watching you stand alone,/All of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow. **

Cassie woke to an empty bed and felt the panic rise when she smelled pancakes cooking. She stood and, noticing his shirt on the floor, pulled it on and buttoned it and slipped on a pair of panties and shorts. She walked out into the kitchen to see Laxus in a muscle shirt and pants cooking. "Morning sexy," he said looking over at her. Cassie grunted at him, making grabby hands at him and he grinned. "So, still a caffeine addict." Cassie growled at her mate and made the movement again, making him chuckle as he poured her a cup of coffee and handed it to her. She took a long drink of it and sighed. "Better?"

"Much," she responded as he slid the pancakes onto a plate and grabbed the butter and syrup.

Cassie followed him as he carried it all, plus the silverware to her little table under the window looking out on her back yard. Laxus smiled as he glanced through the window before he sat down.

"I missed that view," he whispered and looked down as Cassie started devouring the pancakes. "Almost as much as missed that one." Cassie didn't respond as she dove into breakfast, then stopped as she chewed.

"Chocolate chip pancakes?" she said.

"Well, I'm just calling this making up for the birthdays I missed when I was an ass," he responded as he sat down and watched her eat. Cassie finished quickly and moved around the table to sit in Laxus's lap.

"Let me guess, that was meant to be breakfast in bed?" Laxus nodded, wrapping his arms around her and shoving his nose in her hair. Cassie smiled. "You're amazing, you know that?"

"I have been told," he whispered and kissed her neck, nipping gently at her mark. "But you need to head to the guild." Cassie sighed and kissed him.

"What about you?" Laxus shrugged and she pouted. "Please come with me."

"What about gramps and all his 'you're still exiled' crap?"

"Gramps can shove it. You saved our asses on Tenrou island and you deserve your spot back in the guild."

"I was only thinking about one ass," he replied and kissed her again. Cassie giggled and slid her tongue into his mouth.

**I have died every day waiting for you**

They were just about to go to back to her room when someone knocked on her front door. Laxus growled and was going to ignore it when he caught the smell of autumn leaves with citrus, charcoal with fish, and metal with curry spice. Cassie smiled and kissed his cheek as she went to open the door. Outside stood, Wendy, Natsu and Gajeel. The three glanced to her mate mark before they made eye contact with the eldest first generation slayer. "Come on in," she said, inviting them into her rather cramped home. Wendy hugged Cassie before she skipped passed her and up to Laxus, giving him a hug as well. The big blonde was confused at the contact and stared at the littlest dragon slayer as she bounced over to Cassie's couch and plopped down. He watched warily as Natsu gave his mate a one armed hug, a soft growl escaping his lips when the fire dragon had the balls to kiss her cheek. Natsu looked at the big man with a grin, he'd done that just to get a rise out of the big guy. _And it worked! _He thought smugly, absently heading to search through the fridge. Cassie rolled her eyes and looked at Gajeel, who was cautiously looking around her home from just inside the door.

"Sorry, I told Natsu we should come back later," he said to her. "I could smell your pheromones from a mile away but he wouldn't listen."

"Wow, did you actually just apologize for something, Gajeel?" she said, giggling as he started to sputter before he finally composed himself enough to speak.

"I'm just saying I know that I would be royally pissed if someone interrupted me and Le...er my mate." Cassie giggled again and Gajeel just turned away grumbling.

"So, why is it that three dragon slayers have come to my home?" she asked, moving to sit on the couch next to Wendy.

"Well, master told Gajeel and Natsu to come tell you guys some stuff and I tagged along because I wanted to see you and thank you for helping me back on the island," the little girl said, grinning and bowing her head. Cassie smiled and pulled the girl into a hug.

"Don't worry about it, we're family," she said sweetly and kissed the top of her head.

Laxus watched the exchange and smiled. _She's going to be a great mom when we're ready, _he thought. "Why did fire breath in there have to come for?" he said, watching the fire dragon walk into the living room.

"You have no food," he whined, his stomach grumbling.

"Oh course not, dumb ass, no one's been here in seven years," Gajeel growled from his spot leaning on the wall next to the fireplace.

"What did you call me, metal face?"

"He called you 'dumb ass' flame brain," Laxus said. Natsu glared at the two.

"You two wanna go at it?" he growled, flames coating his hands. Cassie growled from the couch.

"Play nice, boys, I like my house the way it is," she warned. Wendy looked between the older dragon slayers in wonder as they all backed down. "Now, what is it you were sent to tell me?"

"Well, you and Laxus," Gajeel said. "First, Master said Laxus is welcome to rejoin Fairy Tail, if he so chose."

"Why'd the old man change his mind?" the lightning dragon in question said.

"Well that has to to do with what I'm going to tell you next," the iron dragon said and launched into the details of what happened in their seven year absence.

Cassie sighed, finishing braiding Wendy's pigtails. "So, Grand Magic Games?" she said softly, looking over at Laxus. "I think we can do it." The blonde smirked.

"We're Fairy Tail, of course we can, we've just gotta do some training!" Natsu said.

"Uh, there is one more thing I wanted to talk to you about but it can wait until Natsu and Wendy have left," Gajeel said, a little pink coloring his cheeks. Wendy looked up and out the window and gasped, a little too dramatically to just be a coincidence.

"Natsu, we're going to be late!" she said, grabbing the fire dragon by the hand and starting to drag him to the door, giving Gajeel a wink before she drug him out the door and down the path. Cassie chuckled and shut the door behind them, she then turned back to see Laxus had moved to the couch. She sat on his lap and looked over at Gajeel expectantly.

**Darling, don't be afraid I have loved you/For a thousand years/I'll love you for a thousand more**

Gajeel looked at the mated pair for moment before speaking quietly. "How did you know?" Cassie looked up at Laxus and pondered the question.

"I knew after the Fantasia incident," he muttered. "I was going to just leave after my talk with gramps but instead I found myself outside this house." Cassie smiled at her mate and nuzzled his neck.

"I knew when I finally came home again," she said, dancing her fingertips across her mate's arm. "I wanted to hate him but I ended up forgiving him for it all." The large blonde smiled down at his mate then looked up at Gajeel, who had a distant look in his eyes.

"You found her," he said, slipping Cassie off his lap so he wouldn't get distracted from the current conversation. Gajeel nodded.

"Levy, I knew just before the trials. I couldn't imagine her going there, with another unmated male dragon slayer, with out me. I was really surprised when she said yes to me being her partner, but I'm afraid she doesn't share my feelings." The iron dragon was slowly growing redder as he spoke but he trusted the older dragon slayers, he'd trust them with his or Levy's life. _Ragnavir, family, clan, trust. I found it, Metalicana. _He watched as the two watched him. Cassie like a loving mother, _monah, _Laxus made him feel like a boy wanting his father to approve, _bormah. _Together, _lafaan, _parents, _hofkiin, _home.

"She does," Cassie said, breaking his trance. "I saw the way she looked at you when you were hurt." Gajeel nodded.

"_Nox, dovah monah,(Thanks, dragon mother)_" he said, then stopped. _Did I just speak dragon out loud? I haven't done that since Metalicana left. _Gajeel opened his mouth the explain but Cassie held up a hand.

"_Nid, ni friikir.(No, don't apologize)_" Cassie swallowed and forced herself to switch back to common for her confused mate, _lokaliinii. _"Sorry about that, Laxus. It's the language of dragons, it's most dragon slayers' first language. It was something we shared with just our dragons, so most of us stopped speaking it when they left." She cocked her head at Gajeel. "_Fahvos tinvaak dovahzul?(Why speak dragon?)_"

"_Fran viilut, monah,(Feels right, mother)_" he responded, shrugging.

"_Monah?_" Cassie quirked an eyebrow. Laxus grumbled next to her, unable to understand the two first generation slayers.

"_Ragnavir, monah," _he pointed to Cassie. "_Bormah,_" he gestured to Laxus. "_Pahboth, lafaan, hofkiin, tahriik.(Together, parents, home, safety)" _Cassie smiled at the man.

"_Ragnavir," _she whispered. "_Hofkiin." _She stood and hugged Gajeel. "Why are we _'lafaan'_? Parents?" Gajeel hugged her back and shrugged.

"Because, you just are," he said. Laxus glared at the man hugging his mate but couldn't bring himself to be truly angry. "I should go now," he said, releasing the woman. "_Tiid bo viing, monah. Vah su'um ven, bormah.__ Zu'u fen vorey.(I must go now, mother. Farewell, father. I will tell the others.)" _He grinned at them and left.

After the door closed Laxus looked at his mate, confusion in his eyes. "_Ragnavir, _family. _Monah, _mother. _Bormah, _father," she translated, hoping he'd get the gist from that. His eyes widened.

"Dragon thing?" he asked. Cassie laughed and nodded.

"Dragon thing, just like the mating marks, _ziikselokaliin. _Tanith told me that, because there were so few dragons training slayers that we would be naturally pulled towards each other and develop a family group, _ragnavir dopaan, _from there the group would determine the 'parents', _lafaan, _they are the leaders, _kinbokke, _and are referred to as such when conversing outside of the _ragnavir dopaan." _Laxus absorbed the information.

"You're going to have to teach me...what did you call it?" Cassie smiled at him.

"_Dovahzul,_" she said. "It's pretty easy to pick up."

"Plus I'll have a very forgiving teacher," he wrapped his arms around her and she giggled, kissing him again.

"_Lokaal hi,_" she said against his lips. Laxus looked at her. "Love you." He smiled and nibbled at her neck.

"_Lokaal hi," _he murmured, trying out the language. He decided he liked it, mostly because of the smile that spread across Cassie's face when he spoke. He pulled her back into his lap and kissed her thoroughly. "I'm going to take my time with you this time," he whispered, gently kissing over to her scars, then down to her neck.

**Time stands still/Beauty in all she is/I will be brave/I will not let anything take away/What's standing in front of me/Every breath/Every hour has come to this**

Gajeel walked back into the guild, it was quiet for once. _Team Natsu must really have left for a mission, _he thought and looked over to see Levy standing at the request board. _Better get this over with before I leave with Pantherlily to train. _He walked over and looked over the requests before glancing down. "So, shrimp," he grumbled out, she looked up at him and light blush coloring her cheeks. _Well, Cassie was right, _he thought and smiled. "Cassie said you were pretty worried about me when I was hurt." Levy blushed brighter and nodded. "I'm glad you're okay. I-I don't know what I'd have done if you were seriously hurt." Levy stared up at Gajeel then.

"A-are you saying what I think you are?" she whispered. Gajeel took a deep breath and smiled. _Books and coconut, _he thought and nodded to the girl. Levy grinned and threw her arms around his neck. "Me, too," she whispered in his ear. Gajeel blushed and hugged her. Levy groaned, grabbed his spiky black hair and kissed him. "That is how you properly show a woman," she whispered. "That you love her." Gajeel smirked and picked her up.

"I have other ways," he said and carried her out of the guild, leaving everyone else there in complete awe.

"Did...did that just happen?" Mira asked from her place behind the counter and the others in the hall nodded, rendered speechless by the actions of the usually reserved dragon slayer. _And I didn't even get to do the pushing with those two, _she thought sadly and went back to her duties.

**And all along I believed I would find you/Time has brought your heart to me/I have loved you for a thousand years/I'll love you for a thousand more **

**AN: There you are folks, chapter six. Dovahzul is the dragon language from Skyrim, I just used a translator(link on my profile for those interested) for the conversation and for any subsequent conversations. Next chapter – Chapter 7: This is War. We'll be time skipping the three months of training straight to Makarov forming the teams, which will be when most of the rest of the canon goes out the window. Review, follow, favorite :D See you next time.**

**~Wolfspirit21**


	7. Chapter 7: This is War

**AN: [insert disclaimer] Chapter Song: This is War by 30 Seconds to Mars. I have finally finished my sim version of Cassie, a link is on my profile to a screenshot of her, I think she's looks pretty good and would love your guys' opinions of her(note: the sim is her essentially at the end of this chapter oh and the sim refused to stop making a weird face). **

**Thank you to my reviewers I'm so happy that you guys are enjoying this story as I'm enjoying writing it. Keep those reviews up, they keep me writing :D**

**Anyways, the story.**

Chapter 7: This is War

**A warning to the people,/The good and the evil**

Three months had passed, three months of intense training and even more intense sex for our couple, well at least one. Gajeel had marked Levy as his before they parted to train, Laxus and Cassie going to train together high in the days were filled with sparring, pushing their magic to their limits and beyond, and their nights were filled with love making. Cassie was actually a little upset when it all had to end and she convinced Laxus to wait just a little bit longer in their hideaway, causing them to be extremely late for the master's team announcement. "Way to go Cassie," Laxus grumbled at her as the walked into the guild hall. Gajeel stood, practically pouting, against the bar.

"Master already named the team," he growled. "_Hinzaal kaat(damn cat), _makes me late," he grumbled. Cassie sighed, looking at the cat in question. Pantherlily hung his head.

"Sorry," he muttered, understanding that it was him that Gajeel was upset with.

"_Drem, goraaniik(calm, youngster)," _Cassie said to the younger dragon slayer, who huffed but stopped his grumbling. Laxus looked at those still in the guild hall.

"Who's on the team?" he asked. Macao looked up from his drink.

"Natsu, Erza, Gray, Wendy and Lucy," he said. Laxus nodded.

"It's a strong team, they should do well."

"I have been informed," Markarov said, seeming to appear out of thin air in the door. "That we are allowed two teams in the games. Laxus, Gajeel, Cassie, Mira and Mystogan, you are Fairy Tail Team B."

"Wait a minute, Mystogan stayed in Edolas," Pantherlily said, perplexed by the idea that the man would have found a way back.

"I'm aware, but some matters have come to my attention and I have allowed Jellal to pose as Mystogan to monitor them." The other members of team B nodded. "If there is nothing else, you need to leave now if you are to have any chance of making it there in time." The group grinned.

"Let's go, then," Cassie said and they all headed for Crocus.

**To the soldier, the civilian,/The martyr, the victim,/This is war**

The team stood in the tunnel, waiting to be announced. Cassie listened closely to the other guild's being announced. "Team A came in dead last," Gajeel groaned.

"Hey, that's why master sent two teams in," Mira said brightly. They continued listening. Quatro Cerberus came in seventh, Mermaid Heel in sixth, Blue Pegasus in fifth, and Lamia Scale in fourth. Cassie fiddled with her ring as she waited, leaning against the wall with Laxus, their shoulders touching.

"In third place..." the commentator droned for a minute before announcing the guild's name. "Raven Tail." Laxus's head shot up and Cassie froze. Gajeel looked over at the two.

"Laxus, isn't that..." Mira trailed off as Cassie started to shake with fear.

"Ivan...Ivan is here," she whimpered. Laxus gently wrapped his arms around her.

"He's not allowed to compete," he murmured. "_Zu'u fen ni vos mok ahraan hi, lokaliini.(I won't let him hurt you)_" Cassie nodded as Gajeel came over gently touching her shoulder.

"_Zu'u fen ni vos mok ahraan hi, ahney(either), monah,_" he said, a soft growl in his voice. Cassie nodded to the two.

"_Kogaan(thanks),_" she said and forced herself to stop trembling. Mira and Jellal watched the exchange between the dragon slayers silently, they didn't question them and Mira just smiled at the black haired woman when she looked up at them. Cassie smiled back and pushed away from the wall and stepped away. Laxus gently touched her back as she stood and they prepared to enter the arena. Cassie stood straighter and suddenly reached up to wipe the make up away from her scars. "I'm sending him a message," she said to Laxus's questioning gaze. "I haven't forgotten what he did." Her mate nodded and they walked out into the arena as the commentator announced them as the second place team.

**The moment to live and the moment to die,/The moment to fight, the moment to fight**

They walked out to astonishment, Laxus stood in the middle, Gajeel to his right and Cassie to his left. Jellal stood beside Cassie and Mira beside Gajeel. The entire group, minus Jellal as his face was hidden by his mask, grinned at team A. The entirety of team A gaped at them and Cassie giggled at them, seeming to forget her fear from earlier. Laxus, however, knew better. He felt it seeping not only through their mark but through his link to the lacrima that now nestled just above her breasts, he gently and discreetly brushed her hand with his but then noticed another disturbing fact. "Where's Wendy?" Cassie whispered to Natsu.

"The infirmary, she was attacked last night before the sky labyrinth," he replied quietly, he glanced at the other male dragon slayers as they emitted a low growl and knew they were listening even as the conversed with the other members of team A. "It was Raven Tail, they had the balls to say to our face when they came in." Cassie growled and looked to Laxus, who looked as if he were about to lose it right there but was interrupted by the commentator announcing the first place team, Sabertooth.

They watched as the Sabertooth team walked in and Cassie immediately noted the scents of two dragon slayers. _Cotton and vanilla and Leather and black cherry, _she thought as she observed the twin dragons of Sabertooth. Laxus unconsciously stepped closer to her mate and glared at the two dragon slayers. The commentator explained how the games worked then went straight into the first game, Hidden. Cassie watched as the competitors stepped up. Quatro Cerberus sent in Yeager, an oaf of a man she smirked. _Hidden, that means subtly, doubt that man could be subtle if her tried. _Mermaid Heel sent in Beth. _She could be decent. _Blue Pegasus selected Eve. _Same with him. _Raven Tail sent in Nalpudding, an ugly little troll of a man with purple skin. _We'll have to watch out for him, if I know Ivan only the most cruel people would have been allowed in. _Sabertooth's Rufus volunteered for the game. _Definitely going to keep my eye on that one. _Lamia Scale selected Lyon. _If I remember correctly he trained with Gray. _Team A sent in Gray. _Well, guess I'm best suited then. _Cassie looked over at her team. "I'll go in," she said and didn't give Laxus a chance to argue as she stepped forward.

"From Fairy Tail team B, Cassandra Flurry. We don't know much about this member of Fairy Tail, but I think we can all agree she's a looker," the commentator said, causing a possessive growl to slip from Laxus's throat.

**To the right, To the left/We will fight to the death! **

Cassie grinned, waving at him from her place in the arena. She scanned the crowd as she did and finally saw Ivan standing among the crowd. _See me, you bastard, I'm still here and I'm not backing down, _she thought at him and nonchalantly pushed her hair back from her face, showing the scars that could now be seen slashing through her eye brow and down across her cheekbone, crisscrossing her cheek.

Mira gasped, this being her first look at the scars without make up over them since she first received the wounds. Laxus clamped his lips into a line, he would do anything to keep her out of the games entirely now but knew that if he did anything it would only piss her off. _And that is one woman I never want to see completely pissed, _he thought to himself as he walked with the rest of the team up to the viewing area. _Don't go getting yourself hurt, monah, _Gajeel thought, resting his arms on the ledge to watch the game unfold. Laxus stood with his back against the wall, slightly bristling as the pumpkin headed mascot explained the rules.

**A warning to the prophet,/The liar, the honest,/This is war./To the leader, the pariah,/The victor, the messiah,/This is war.**

Cassie stood with other competitors, remaining quiet through the banter, except to giggle as Lyon hit on her(*) and Gray rolled his eyes. Nalpudding stepped up to the pumpkin man, grumbling about how Fairy Tail had an unfair advantage. Cassie simply rolled her eyes. _Definitely one of Ivan's lackeys, _she thought as everyone else simply shrugged it off, the officials didn't say anything so they wouldn't apparently. Cassie glanced around the group, noting who to avoid at all costs if this came to a battle. _Definitely Rufus and Lyon, they both kind of creep me out. Nalpudding I'll add to the list, just as a precaution, no need to poke the bear. _She felt her mate mark spark a little and glanced towards the view point where Laxus stood and smiled softly.

The town materialized around them and Cassie looked around in wonder. "So, a game of hide and seek." She grinned, but soon grimaced as the copies appeared. "Great," she muttered. "Let's hope they didn't think to copy their scents." She inhaled deeply through her nose and grinned, the copies gave off no scent at all. "Too easy," she muttered and quickly began slipping between the copies, heading towards Gray's scent. _Sorry, but yours is the scent I know best, _she thought and froze as she heard movement ahead. Nalpudding came around the corner and Cassie did her best to hold still, as the copies of herself were doing around her. _Just a little closer, _she thought, watching the purple skinned troll move through the crowd.

"Come out, come out, little snow dragon," he chuckled. Cassie flinched and groaned as he looked directly at her. She sighed and quickly went to jump but was too slow as he smashed her with his spiky arm. She groaned in pain as she was re-spawned somewhere else in the town.

**To the right, To the left/We will fight to the death!/To the edge of the earth**

Laxus gritted his teeth as he watched. _So, Ivan told his guild about her, _he thought. Gajeel looked over at the blonde dragon slayer. "Take it easy," he said to him. "She's smart, she'll figure something out." Laxus just nodded and continued watching the game. The iron dragon slayer shook his head and continued watching, hoping that she didn't run into the guy again.

Cassie did her best to move through the crowd of copies, locating Gray's scent again and taking a winding path towards it. When she approached however, she saw that quite a few wizards had closed in on the location and so she held back, watching as Beth attempted to hit Gray but missed then was taken out by Yeager who was taken out by Lyon. _Great, creeper alert, _she thought as she watched him eye one of her copies. _That's it, I've had it, _with that thought she jumped up above everyone them. "Snow dragon fist!" she yelled, landing the hit square in Lyon's face. She grinned as he was taken to a new spawn point. "Sorry, Gray..."

"No need," he muttered as she turned to face him. "We going to do this or what?" Cassie grinned but as she and Gray were about to see who had the quicker draw with their magic, Nalpudding appeared taking them both out in one go. Cassie growled as she stood from her spawn. "I'm going to kill him," she muttered, this time she'd be able to get a good sniff of him and her nostrils flared and she attempted to sniff him out when snow started falling. "Snow?" she muttered, flicking her tongue out to eat a flake. _Magic snow, doesn't taste too bad, _she thought and lost herself in the joy of the snow.

"Oh no," Laxus groaned and moved up to the rail next to Gajeel, who looked up at him. "She reverts to a toddler in the snow, she doesn't get to see it much in Magnolia so when she gets the chance to see snow..." Gajeel nodded, needing no more explanation as he watched the black haired woman play like a toddler, catching snow flakes on her tongue. The commentator was loving it, finally putting together that she was a snow dragon slayer. Most of the crowd was stunned by this revelation but the members of Raven Tail smirked and the twin dragons laughed at her childish behavior. Laxus lunged forward when Rufus unleashed his attack, sending Cassie screaming to the ground. Gajeel grabbed his arm before he vaulted over the edge and interfere however. "_Drem, bormah, drem,_" he muttered. Laxus took several deep breaths and nodded to Gajeel.

"_Kogaan, dol dovah(iron dragon),_" he said. Gajeel inclined his head and released the man as the game ended. "She'll want to go see Wendy," he muttered, turning to head down to meet her. "Keep an eye on Raven Tail," he said to Mira and Jellal. The two nodded as the dragon slayers left to meet up with Cassie.

**It's a brave new world**

**AN: There we have the first game, Hidden. (*)I'm essentially ignoring Juvia's existence here, also I figured that even without seeing her magic Lyon would be able to feel that they used similar magic and be attracted. Next chapter will be up in a couple days or so. I haven't chosen a song yet as I'm working out what's going to happen and what song will fit. Don't forget to review :D. Until next time.**

**~Wolfspirit21**


	8. Chapter 8: Not Alone

**AN: [disclaimer about not owning stuff] Chapter Song: Not Alone by Linkin Park. Happy late Easter to everyone that celebrates it, hopefully no one over dosed on chocolate(I think I came close).**

Chapter 8: Not Alone

**I break down, fear is sinking in **

Laxus nearly ran to the tunnel to be there when Cassie came out, he didn't want her alone after what had happened. He didn't want her alone with Ivan anywhere close by. _I wont' let him touch her again, _he thought as they arrived at the tunnel. Cassie was walking down the tunnel, lost in her own head as they approached. "Cassie," Laxus said softly, reaching out to her. Cassie looked up at him.

"I fucked up," she said, running the game over and over in her head. "I should have..." Laxus pressed his lips to hers to quiet her.

"Hush now, it wasn't your fault. Nalpudding was targeting you, specifically, and we both know why." Cassie nodded, pressing her forehead to his. Laxus nudged her nose with his. "Now, let's go see how the littlest dragon is doing alright?" She nodded again and Laxus wrapped his arm around her waist. Gajeel watched the exchange silently, leaning against the wall. He was very curious about Cassie's history with Ivan but was willing to let it go until after they visited Wendy.

Cassie, gently opened the door to the infirmary and saw the blue haired dragon slayer laying in bed. "Hey," she said softly, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I heard what happened. You okay?" Wendy looked up at the snow dragon and nodded. Cassie gently touched her face, slipping a few stray strands of hair behind the girl's ear. "_Aaz hah so, naal hindseven frolaaz zey, meydovah(I'm sorry, please forgive me, dragonling). Zu'u drey ni jaaril hi med zu'u fend(I did not protect you like I should)._" Wendy smiled up at the older dragon slayer.

"_Niidro bek, zu'u dreh ni noraas hi(It's okay, I don't blame you)._" Cassie smiled back at the little dragon. Laxus and Gajeel watched the exchange between the two in silence. Laxus let a soft smile cross his face. _A great mother, _he thought.

"Get your rest, little one," Cassie said and nuzzled the top of the girls head. Wendy giggled and snuggled down into her bed. Cassie stood and the three elder dragon slayers turned to leave only to see Natsu and Erza bring Lucy in.

"_Fos koros, yolgonis(what happened, salamander)?_" Gajeel growled.

"Natsu?" Cassie said gently, watching the man's eyes.

"Raven Tail," he growled out as he deposited the blonde woman on a bed. Porlyusca, who had silently sat in the corner during the dragons' conversation, came forward now and started attending to her new charge.

"You five need to leave and let me work, I'll send for you when she's ready for visitors," the pink haired woman said. The five wizards nodded and left the room.

**The cold comes, racing through my skin **

Erza left saying she was going to find Gray and the four dragon slayers went to the tavern they were staying at. Laxus sat with Cassie nestled into his side, Levy had joined them and had snuggled into Gajeel. Natsu sat alone, watching the two pairs of mates longingly. "So, our _ragnavir _is growing," he said, nodding to Levy. Gajeel wrapped an arm around her.

"Got a problem, salamander?" he growled. Natsu shrugged.

"Just stating the obvious, metal face." The iron dragon moved to stand but was stopped by a small hand on his arm.

"_Drem,_" she whispered to him. Cassie lifted a brow at the blue haired woman. "Gajeel taught me a little bit of davahzul before we left for training." Gajeel kissed his mate's cheek.

"I figured, since she's part of our _ragnavir _that she should be able to join our more private conversations." Cassie smiled at them. Natsu made gagging noises and Gajeel couldn't contain his anger anymore. He shot up, nearly sending Levy toppling to the ground in the process, and grabbed the fire dragon by the throat. "You got a problem, flame brain?" he growled. Laxus stood, gently pushing Cassie over towards Levy. He stepped up to the two squabbling slayers and put a hand on each shoulder.

"Gajeel, let him go," he said calmly. When Gajeel refused he let a growl slip from his throat. "_Helt daar, nu los ni tiid wah krif.(stop this, now is not the time to fight)_" Gajeel looked to the elder dragon slayer and whined. Laxus simply crossed his arms and the iron dragon released Natsu grumbling.

"I didn't need your help, spark plug," he muttered and Laxus glared.

"This wasn't about your well being, it was about Levy," he growled. "Did Igneel not teach you manners?" Natsu growled and flames coated his hands.

"_Faaz nah!(Damn you)_" he snarled and went to punch the lightning dragon slayer.

"ENOUGH!" Cassie roared, frost and snow spreading on the floor from her feet to the fire dragon slayer. "Natsu, go find Lissana and cool off." The fire dragon slayer grumbled but turned to leave.

"_Friik, saak briinah(sorry, big sister),_" he muttered and left. Laxus took a deep breath and moved back to his mate's side.

"Gajeel, take Levy and get some rest," the snow dragon muttered, rubbing her temples to try to soothe the ache forming there. The iron dragon nodded and wrapped one arm around his tiny mate while he used the other to give the black haired woman and hug.

"_Praan pruzah, monah(rest well, mother),_" he said then he and his mate went up to their room.

**Searching for a way to get to you/Through the storm you...**

Cassie sighed and leaned into Laxus. "Why do they have to act like toddlers?" she muttered. Laxus shrugged, wrapping his arms around her. The two watched as the rest of their guild mates filtered in, including Lucy. They sat there watching them until Cassie's eyelids dropped closed. Laxus carried her up to their room and laid her in the bed. He went out onto the small balcony and looked up at the stars, thinking about everything that happened, particularly that Ivan was somewhere in the city. _Cassie's still absolutely terrified and I can't do anything about it, _he thought and cringed when he heard her whimpering in her sleep. Cold spread through his body as he reentered the room and sat on the edge of her bed. "Cassie," he whispered, gently touching her cheek. The woman didn't stir, instead she shivered as tears slid from her closed eyes. "I'm so sorry," he whispered, kissing her forehead. He looked up when the scents of metal and charcoal reached his nose. He turned his head towards the balcony where the two dragon slayers stood. He tucked the blanket closer around Cassie before he stood and walked to the balcony.

**With eyes like echos in the night/Hiding from the hell that you've been through **

Gajeel and Natsu had climbed across the adjoining balconies to reach Cassie and Laxus's room. Cassie's nightmare had sent a cold shock wave through their little _ragnavir _and the two had made sure that their rooms were secure before heading over to see what was up. "What's wrong with her?" Natsu asked. Laxus sighed, running his hand through his spiky blonde hair.

"Ivan," he muttered. "It's triggered her memories of what he did to her. I'm guessing that's what her nightmare is about and I can't wake her from it." Gajeel looked between the two.

"What did he do? I mean I know he gave her the scars on her face but...what exactly did he do to her to make her react like this?" Natsu looked down at the ground, his lips pressed into a hard line. Laxus frowned up at the sky.

"He tortured her," he whispered, he pulled the picture he still kept from her album from his pocket and handed it to Gajeel. The iron dragon held it gently, he noted how worn it was, the wrinkles and slight tears and small tear stains, Cassie and Laxus were much younger and she didn't have a single mark on her face. "That was taken the day it happened, just a few hours before that monster grabbed her. She'd been heading home to get ready for our date that evening...I didn't realize she was gone until she didn't show up. I guess that was his plan, grab her when no one was expecting to see her for several hours." Lightning crackled over the man's body and he glanced into the room to make sure Cassie was still asleep. "I know when she wasn't at our spot waiting for me something was wrong. I headed out to her house, following the route she usually took from the guild hall. I found where he grabbed her...I didn't want it to be real but I followed the scent trail...I found them in a clearing. He had her tied up and was...he was cutting into her..." Laxus gulped as tears slid down his face. "He was cutting into her stomach, Porlyusca said it looked like he was trying to prevent her from having children. I was frozen with fear, I couldn't move..."

"I'd followed the trail as well, something hadn't felt right that day, I found them just as Ivan was...anyway I got him off of her and took her to Porly's place, she called gramps and...well you know the rest," Natsu finished when it was clear Laxus couldn't force words out anymore. "We still don't know what happened before Laxus showed up, that's something that only Cassie and Ivan know." The fire dragon looked through the door to the sleeping snow dragon, flames around his fists. "What he did...she hasn't been the same. Sure she's started smiling again but...she refuses to use her full power."

"Even back on Tenrou Island?" Gajeel asked, handing the picture he still held back to Laxus.

"That was only a tiny fraction of the power she possesses, or at least what she had before that day," Laxus whispered. "Used to be, she could easily take on Erza, Guildarts and myself all at the same time and win...now she holds back so much...well you saw what happened today." The raven haired man shook his head.

"I'm going to kill that bastard, I don't care about master's rule, he doesn't deserve to live," he growled. Laxus shook his head.

"You'll only piss her off, she doesn't want people putting themselves in danger for her," Natsu said. "She's stubborn like that, even more so now."

"Why?"

**Silent one, you.../Go, giving up your home/Go, leaving all you've known **

"Because the reason I pushed her away was because I couldn't face my failure to protect her, so now," Laxus shook his head. "Now, she'll let us talk about protecting her sure, but as soon as we go to actually put it in action, I can assure you she will explode. It happened while we were training, I tried to protect her from an angry Vulcan and she got pissed. That was one of the few times I've seen her actually use more than a small bit of her power since that day."

"So, what do we do?"

"We work from the shadows, do little things but don't let her see it and don't try to get her pulled from the games," Natsu said and climbed up on the railing. "So, Laxus we'll be tailing you guys when we're not at the hotel or the arena agreed?" Laxus nodded and the two dragon slayers mad their way back to their rooms.

**You go, giving up your home/Go, leaving all you've known/You go, giving up your home/Go, you are not unknown **

Laxus reentered the room, locking the balcony door and rechecking the main door to be sure it was still locked. When he'd finished his checks he slipped into bed with Cassie and pulled her close, resigned to not sleeping and just making sure she was okay as the nightmare in her mind continued.

**You are not alone/You are not unknown/You are not alone **

**AN: So it took me a few days but I finally got this out. Sorry it took so long, but I did get it all sorted out. Next time Chapter 9: Closer to the Edge, Cassie is thrown into the one on one fights and we get the rest of the story of what happened between her and Ivan(I promise no sexual abuse was involved). Until then.**

**~Wolfspirit21**


	9. Chapter 9: Closer to the Edge

**AN: I don't own anything, just Cassie. Chapter Song: Closer to the Edge by 30 Seconds to Mars. Hello once again, to those who have reviewed, thank you, to those who haven't please please please I need feedback, I need to know if I need to fix things, if things are confusing, etc. so please either shoot me a private message or post a review for me, thanks. Now, to the story.**

Chapter 9: Closer to the Edge

**I don't remember the moment I tried to forget/I lost myself, is it better not said/Now I'm closer to the edge**

The teams walked to the arena in silence the next morning. Well the dragon slayers and their mates were silent, the other members were a few steps ahead chattering loudly, seeming to compensate for the relative silence behind them. Natsu had arrived that morning with Lisanna, fresh mate marks on their arms. Cassie smiled at them and Natsu had grinned back and had wrapped his arm around the black haired woman, never letting Lisanna out of his grasp. "I know you had a nightmare," he whispered. "We all know, just...talk to us okay?" Cassie nodded and the group fell completely silent again.

Natsu released Cassie and fell into step just a stride behind her. He glanced over and saw Gajeel in the same position behind Laxus. _We don't even realize we do it, _he thought as he also noticed the he and Gajeel had adjusted Lisanna and Levy to the middle of the group. _We trust each other completely...well almost, Cassie hasn't trusted us with what happened, it was bad whatever it was and it's tearing her up inside. _He looked at the woman who acted as his big sister's back. The muscles were stiff under the skin tight top she wore, her shoulders slumped slightly but her head was held high as thought nothing was wrong. To those outside of their group she looked fine, but the men and even the two women knew she was broken, they just didn't know how much.

The teams split at the entrance, each going to their respective viewing area to await the announcement of today's game. Cassie watched silently as the competitors took their places and the game was explained, but she wasn't really paying attention. She stared down at arena but her mind wasn't seeing it, instead she saw trees and grass spattered with blood, her blood. Ivan's face inches from her own, sneering at her, telling her how weak she was. She was too weak to fight back, too weak to even scream, too weak to speak. _Still too weak to speak, _she thought. _Too weak to tell anyone about it, too weak, they thought they'd seen me at my lowest point but they hadn't. They'd been too late to truly save me, I can't...I can't protect them, I couldn't protect her..._

Laxus stood stiffly beside her, he could feel her trembling start. It was subtle at first but it was getting worse. He finally couldn't take it anymore and wrapped his arm around her waist and squeezed but it didn't stop. "Cassie," he whispered. "Cassandra, look at me." He grabbed her shoulders and turned her towards him. "Look at me, baby." Cassie's ice blue eyes remained blank and Laxus pulled her towards the back wall. "Cassandra Mae Flurry, please." It came out somewhere between a whimper and a growl. When she still didn't respond he growled and shoved the collar of her top to the side to bite her mate mark. Cassie jerked and her eyes cleared. "What happened?" Laxus muttered, kissing her neck before her slipped her top back into place. Cassie sighed and looked down at her hands.

"My nightmare," she muttered, pulling the hem of her shirt down a little further and making sure her hair was over the right side of her face.

Laxus grimaced and looked toward the other two occupants of the room, having forgotten their presence. Mira smiled softly at the couple, turning her attention back to the game, though she really wanted the distraction. Both Gajeel and Natsu were having trouble with this game, Chariot and they were about to lose horribly. _At least Sabertooth is having the same issue, _she thought, watching Sting have just as much trouble. Jellal, however, kept an eye on the dragon slayers at the back of the room. He'd felt the odd magic power that came from her before Laxus bit her. He knew something was definitely not right but he wasn't about to bring it up with her in front of Laxus. _I'll talk to her after the games are done for today, _he thought as Gajeel entered, grumbling about Natsu and motion sickness.

Cassie seemed to perk up as Gajeel entered the room and giggled at his grumbling. Laxus noted the change in her demeanor but chose not to comment, not in front of outsiders. _Wow when did I start considering Mira and outsider? _He shook his head as they moved back to the front of the room. Gajeel looked at Laxus, a question in his crimson eyes but the blonde man shook his head subtly and the two stood on either side of the woman as she leaned sat on the railing. "So, Gajeel, finally got the motion sickness thing?" She grinned at the look on the iron dragon's face.

"Yeah, card carrying dragon slayer now...or that was the joke Natsu and that Sting guy used." Cassie just giggled.

"Happens to the best of us, metal head, trust me there is a reason I walk everywhere." The other four stared at the black haired woman. She looked around at them. "What?"

"You didn't get sick on the train here," Laxus said, crossing his arms.

"Oh, yeah, that...well you see they make these things called books, helps me to forget I'm in a vehicle, also gives me a great place to hide when I can't control it anymore." The other four just kept staring.

"And we start off today's battle round with Lyon Vastia from Lamia Scale, versus Cassandra Flurry from Fairy Tail Team B," the commentator's voice boomed through the arena. The grin slipped from Cassie's face. Laxus lifted his hand to comfort her but she shook her head.

"I'll be fine." Cassie smiled weakly at them as she stood up on the rail and jumped down, using her snow dragon wing attack to float herself down and land safely.

"She definitely knows how to make an entrance," the commentator said and Cassie lifted her hand in a wave as she walked towards Lyon, plastering a wide smile on her face.

**It was a thousand to one and a million to two/Time to go down in flames and I'm taking you/Closer to the edge**

Laxus watched her walk and noticed Gajeel do the same. The two frowned as they saw the slight stiffness in her steps, the jerkiness of her wave. Laxus looked over towards where his grandfather stood next to the ghost of Master Mavis. The old man noticed too, Laxus even saw Guildarts, lingering at the back of the group, frowning. _So we're not the only ones noticing, _he thought, slightly relieved that the two elders knew her as well as he did. "They're seeing it too," Gajeel rumbled crossing his arms. Laxus nodded.

"Of course they do, she's a child of Fairy Tail." The iron dragon grunted and watched Cassie take her fight stance.

"She's gonna get hurt, you know that right? She's holding back even more now, just look at the way she moves. It's like she's afraid she'll hurt someone if she moves too quickly." Laxus nodded, his muscles tensing more and more. Gajeel grunted, ready to hit the man if he moved to interfere. "You know if you try to interrupt the fight we'll have to stop you right?" The blonde nodded and forced himself to breathe. He watched her dodge a few of Lyon's attacks, catching a couple of the ice birds and chomping them down. Everything seemed like slow motion, Lyon was just testing the waters and by his frown he knew she was holding back. _Cassie, what the hell are you doing? _His brow furrowed as he watched Lyon's attacks pick up. Cassie was dodging fewer and fewer and forced to take more and more hits. _Come on, fight back. _A low growl started in the back of his throat without his permission as he started to feel sharp pains on his arms and torso. Gajeel winced as the growl reached his ears. He looked down as Cassie just took the punishment from Lyon, who was taking no pleasure in this so called fight. _"Ruth nii, miil, krif!(damn it, woman, fight)"_ he roared at the woman as she allowed herself to fall to her knee.

**This never ending story/Paid for with pride and fate/We all fall short of glory/Lost innocence**

Cassie shook her head as she breath came in short gasps. _I need to fight, for them. I need to find a way, _she thought as she lifted her head. She looked up towards Natsu, her little brother, always trying to protect her. He stood, she could hear his soft growling and could smell the small amount of blood from where his nails dug into his flesh. _What should I do, little brother? _She rolled to dodge another of Lyon's relentless attacks. _Even he's trying to get me to fight back. _She looked back up at Natsu, seeing him looking over to the other Fairy Tail team. Cassie followed his eyes and winced. Gajeel was trying to talk to Laxus as the blonde was reaching to vault himself over the edge and to her. She took a deep breath. _I've gotta focus...I need to show them I'm better, I need to get better. I have family now, they'll protect me but I also have to protect them...that's it I need something to truly fight for... _She drug herself up, flipping her hair out of her face. She saw Lyon grin. "Finally going to fight, snow witch?" he grinned at her. Cassie grinned at him and called forth her magic.

"You're going to wish I didn't." Her eyes closed as snow began swirling around her, she took several deep breaths and, when her eyes snapped open they were a glowing white. She crouched and the snow thickened so that all Lyon saw where the glowing white eyes. "Dragon slayer secret art, shattering polar arrow!" The snow she'd gathered shot forward, forming thousands of razor sharp arrows that struck him. "SNOW DRAGON ROAR!" The attack lifted her a few inches off the ground. The attack hit but as she landed back on her feet, a white hot pain shot through her scars and she fell, screaming to the ground. She clutched the scars as her vision was blocked by the memories of that day, memories she wanted so desperately to suppress.

**I will never forget/No no/I will never regret/No no/I will live my life**

Laxus gripped his right eye and abdomen. He slid to the ground at the same moment Cassandra did. "Laxus," Mira said, moving to her friend's side.

"Cassie," he whimpered, trying desperately to push the pain away. "Gajeel, help her." The iron dragon nodded, dropping down into the arena as the official called it a draw. He ran to the woman's side and grabbed her shoulder.

"Cassie," he gently shook the shoulder. Her blue eyes were blank and he felt his heart seize up. He glanced up as Natsu crouched down next to them.

"Where's Laxus?" he asked. Gajeel jerked his head towards the spot he'd just come from.

"In as much pain as she is right now." He gently picked the woman up. Cassie started thrashing in his arms and he whimpered softly. The two dragon slayers carried the woman to the infirmary. Jellal showed up a few minutes later, practically carrying Laxus over to the bed Cassie occupied. He gulped as he watched the man nuzzle his mate's cheek.

Laxus sat on a stool next to Cassie's bed, whispering softly, begging her to see him. He looked up at Natsu and Gajeel and saw his own desperation reflected in their eyes. He looked back down at his mate. She lay trembling, her blue eyes unseeing, Porlyusca and Wendy had treated her physical wounds but the pain in her face didn't leave. Wendy had curled up against the woman's side, snuggling up like a child to her mother and it had stopped her thrashing.

Jellal watched them for a long time before he finally cleared his throat. "I was going to discuss this with Cassandra privately but, as the circumstances have changed I believe it best to bring it to your attention." The four slayers looked over at the man, who had removed his mask while in the privacy of the infirmary. "Laxus, earlier during the game I sensed a strange magic energy coming from Cassandra, it stopped when you bit her mate mark. It has started again, much stronger now."

"Someone is causing this," Natsu growled. Gajeel clenched his fists and met Laxus's eyes. The blonde man nodded and looked to the blue haired man.

"Ivan, he's the only one who would do this to her. He's had it out for her for a very long time," he said, gently brushing the scars over her eye and cheek. Cassie flinched away from his touch and Laxus pulled his hand back, a frown forming on his face. "But how? She hasn't been out of my sight this whole time."

"It's possible he left a marker in her scars," gramps said, walking in slowly, Guildarts behind him. "It would be small, undetectable until it was activated by his presence. What she must be reliving in her mind, it can only be horrible."

"What can we do about it though?" Gajeel asked, a growl slowly building in his throat.

"Right now? Nothing. Just hope that she can find her way out of it," Guildarts said, frowning. "I know it's tough for you guys, you've formed a powerful bond and with any luck it will help her." The four slayers nodded, Laxus looked down at his mate and nuzzled her mark gently. Cassie yelped in her trance state, jumping up off the bed and cowering in the corner. Laxus felt like his heart was being ripped out, watching her shiver and shake with fear. The worst part was that she was looking at him without seeing him. He felt the absolute terror leak through their bond, that was until he felt a hand on his shoulder and the bond severed. He looked up to see Guildarts standing there, pain evident on his face. "Sorry, kid, but...well in this state that bond is hindering you both. It's only temporary, until she's back with us for good." Laxus nodded.

"I should probably go, it seems I'm only scaring her more." His heart broke as he looked away and stood. "Let's give her some space guys, Wendy, keep an eye on her for us? You seem to be the only one that calms her down." The little dragon slayer nodded and silently slipped into the woman's lap. The change was almost instant and Laxus felt the tears slide from his eyes as he turned away, once again unable to help her.

Gajeel and Natsu followed the eldest slayer silently, they both watched him start to crack. "I'll go get the Thunder Legion, maybe they can help him," Gajeel said and split from the group. Natsu picked up his pace until he was walking beside Laxus. Silently he touched his unmarked shoulder. Laxus looked over the pink haired man.

"Thanks," he muttered. The two walked back to their hotel in silence. Upon arriving they both grabbed a drink and sat, slowly sipping until Gajeel arrived with Laxus's team.

The three looked at the man who was their leader, now sitting almost completely broken sipping his drink. Freed sat next to him. "We're here, Laxus," he said quietly. "What ever you need us to do." Laxus nodded.

"Keep an eye on my monstrosity of a father for me," he muttered. "Evergreen and Bickslow, guard the infirmary. No body is allowed in except for treatment, I don't care if the king demands entry, Cassie is vulnerable and I don't want anybody to see her like this. It's the only thing I can do to protect her." The three nodded. Evergreen touched his shoulder.

"You just focus on the games, we'll make sure she's kept safe." Laxus grunted and downed the rest of his drink. Stabbing cold spread from his pendant and he groaned before he gently pulled it off. He gently handed it to Natsu.

"Keep that safe, little brother," he muttered. Natsu took the necklace gently and slipped it into his pocket.

"Little brother huh?" Laxus smiled weakly.

"Yeah, guess so." Natsu smiled back and went back to his drink. _Come back soon, big sister, he's not himself without you, _he thought, hyper aware of the pendant in his pocket.

The Thunder Legion left to take up their positions and Gajeel took the seat Freed vacated. The three sat, drinking until Lisanna and Levy demanded their mates' attention. Laxus told the two to go and he headed to his room. He grabbed the shirt Cassie wore yesterday from the bathroom and laid with it held to his nose. _Already miss her, great I've turned into a sap, _he thought. He laid there, slowly inhaling her scent and rubbing the now pale mate mark on his shoulder. He didn't realize that it had given off a soft glow until it was extinguished. "Come back, Cassie," he muttered as his eyes closed and he entered his own nightmare.

**Closer to the edge/No no no no/Closer to the edge **

**AN: I know, I promised more on her past but it just didn't happen this chapter. Next chapter it will though, don't worry. Most of the chapter will be spent inside Cassie's own personal hell and then we'll go into day three of the GMG. Next time: Chapter 10 – Human. Until then.**

**~Wolfspirit21**


	10. Chapter 10: Human

**AN: [disclaimer about not owning things] Chapter Song: Human by Christina Perri.**

**Sorry for the delay on this chapter guys, I've been having some issues getting time to sit down and write, plus a couple days of illness, but not to fear I'm still thinking about this story, even when I can't write on it.**

**Warning: This will contain graphic violence and some death(?). **

**To the story...**

Chapter 10: Human

**I can hold my breath/I can bite my tongue/I can stay awake for days**

Laxus jerked from his troubled sleep to knocking on his door. He slowly got up, dropping Cassie's shirt onto the floor. He inhaled deeply, hoping for a clue as to who had woken him. The scent of metal reached his nose and Laxus sighed. He walked over and opened the door. "What is it, Gajeel?" he grumbled, turning away from the iron dragon and walking back towards the bed, picking up her shirt as he did.

"Didn't sleep well?" Laxus glared at the man but then noticed something. The iron dragon slayer had heavy bags under his eyes and generally looked tired.

"You didn't sleep did you?" Gajeel shook his head.

"Horrible nightmares. Flashes of trees and grass splattered with blood...her screams..." Gajeel shuddered. Laxus nodded.

"I had the same." Another knock sounded on the door and Gajeel opened it to reveal Natsu and Wendy. "Wendy, how is she?" The small girl shook her head.

"She started screaming and got violent last night. We had to induce a coma. Laxus I'm sorry." She began crying and Laxus reached out for the girl, who climbed up into his lap.

"Hush, little one, it's not your fault," he murmured into her hair. He looked to Natsu, seeing the same exhausted look in his eyes.

"You had nightmares too?" The pink haired man nodded.

"The hell he's forcing her to see, it's bleeding through our connection as _ragnavir, _if Guildarts hadn't severed your mate mark...I doubt you'd be coherent," he said. The playful, idiotic Natsu was gone, replaced by this serious man before them. "We need to take Ivan down, and soon."

"That's assuming that taking him down will help her," Gajeel grumbled. "But I agree, something needs to be done and soon. Snowy isn't going to last long if all we're getting is fragments." The four nodded and Laxus started to tremble slightly. Wendy gently hugged him.

"We will get her back from this, man," Natsu growled. "She's my big sister, your mate, they look to her as a mother for fuck's sake. We're family and we won't let anyone go without a fight." Gajeel nodded.

"This is a dragon family, _ragnavir, _once we get our teeth in something we don't let go." Wendy smiled up at the blonde man.

"See, you don't even have to claim that man as family, you've got plenty right here. Not to mention the rest of Fairy Tail, and we're all fighting for Cassie." Laxus smiled slightly.

"Thanks guys," he muttered and slipped Wendy off his lap. He stood again and headed to the bathroom to shower. "We can't show him that he's hurting us, he had to have put together our connection after Cassie's fight yesterday. We can't give him an inch." Natsu smiled weakly.

"She's rubbed off on you, big guy," he muttered. "That's the kind of speech she would give." The dragon slayers cracked small smiles. Laxus showered quickly, aware that they were waiting for him. After he finished he dressed quickly and they all headed out to see Cassie before the games started for the day.

**I can fake a smile/I can force a laugh/I can dance and play the part**

The infirmary was silent as they entered. Laxus looked at Cassie, laying on the bed breathing gently. If he didn't know any better, he would have said she was just sleeping. However, the nightmares from last night told him that she was in her own personal hell. He sat on the stool next to her bed and gently traced his fingers over her mate mark. "I love you," he whispered, inaudible to any normal person. The other three slayers approached silently. Laxus leaned forward and gently kissed the mark then her lips. "I will get you back, even if it means killing Ivan I will get you back and I will never let anything happen to you again," he murmured against her ear before he stood. Wendy was next, crawling up to snuggle with the woman for a moment before she went to stand next to Laxus. Gajeel gave her a one arms hug, purring softly as he nuzzled her shoulder. He followed Wendy, putting a protective arm around her shoulders. Natsu was the last, he whimpered softly into the woman's hair as tears slid down his cheeks and kissed her cheek gently. The group then walked up to the arena, Wendy using a small healing spell to mask the bags under their eyes. They all smiled softly at each other and then split to join their respective teams. Every step they took towards the public eye, Ivan's eye, they pushed their pain further down until all that shown in their eyes was determination.

**But I'm only human/And I bleed when I fall down **

In the infirmary, Cassie laid in the bed, completely unaware of her surroundings. Behind her closed eyes she was in hell. The loop of the memory started with her walking home to get ready for a date with Laxus. She walked along the road home, humming softly to herself, when she saw the little girl standing beside the road. Cassie walked up to the child, she had short brown hair and big brown eyes. "Hey, are you okay?" she asked gently, reaching out to her. The little girl looked up at her, a vacant expression in her eyes but tears flowing down her cheeks. _Why can't I smell the salt? _The thought was dismissed as the child wailed and she reached to pull the girl into a hug, but the child ran into the forest lining the road. Cassie looked around and seeing no one following the child, she ran after her.

Cassie ran through the trees until something caught her hair, she twisted to Laxus's father, Ivan, holding her long black braid. "What the hell?" she yelled at the man, she knew him by sight. He was always lurking just out of sight when she and Laxus were together. She didn't doubt that he knew everything they'd done in bed last night and earlier that morning. Ivan smirked at the girl.

"If it isn't my son's little bitch," he cackled. Cassie attempted to turn and hit the man, but he yanked her braid until she tumbled backwards into his chest. He wrapped an arm around the girl, the girl that everyone knew as the most powerful wizard in Fairy Tail. _I'll change that, with the help of that wonderful little girl I found, _he thought as he clamped his arm over both of hers at the elbow and drug her deeper into the forest. The child he'd used to lure the young woman was playing in a clearing, oblivious to the black haired dragon slayer struggling against the man. "See that little girl, snow bitch? You can't save her from what I'm going to do," he sneered in her ear.

Cassie thrashed against the man, who only laughed as he used magic binding cuffs to restrain her wrists and feet. He threw her to the ground and approached the little brunette girl.

"Run, little one," she screamed at the child, who did not seem to hear her. The child grinned up at Ivan, that blank look still in her eyes.

"We are going to play break the pretty woman now?" the child asked, her voice monotone. Cassie struggled, wiggling to inch closer to the two.

"Yes, child, it is time to play break the pretty whore." He grinned as he pulled a knife from his boot. He looked at the wiggling woman and gave her a good kick to her ribs. "Stay put, bitch," he snarled at her. Cassie winced and glared up at the man.

"Or what?" she spat at him. Ivan reached down, picking her up by her braid.

"I'll ruin that pretty face of yours." Cassie smirked at him and spat in his face. Ivan roared and lashed out with the knife, Cassie quickly turned her head to try to escaped the blade but her range of motion was limited she she felt the metal bite into the flesh of her cheek, cutting her up to her eyebrow. She cried out in pain as the blood blocked her vision. Ivan drug her over to a tree and hooked her bound hands over a low branch, just high enough the she was standing on her tip toes. Cassie allowed her head to fall forward and Ivan allowed it, she didn't need to see it, only hear it.

He strode back over to the child and sat, pulling her into his lap. Slowly he drug the bloody knife across the child's cheek. "Shall I give you matching?" he chuckled. The child stiffened, now unsure about all this. Ivan grinned down at the child and dug the blade in, making a matching mark to the one he'd given Cassie. The child screamed and tried to run from the man but he held her firmly. "Now, let's hear you scream some more," he whispered and cut the child on the other side of the face, mirroring the mark.

Cassie's head whipped up as the child screamed and whimpered as she saw what the bastard had done to the girl with her clear eye. "Leave her alone," she screamed. Ivan simply laughed and continued to cut the child, careful not to hit anything too vital. He heard Cassie begin to whimper and glanced over to see tears streaming down her face.

"Now what's wrong, snow bitch? Don't like hearing the screams of a child?" He smirked and stood, holding the child, using his magic to keep her conscious. "I know you don't, you hate the thought of anyone in pain. Isn't that the reason you told my son you became strong? To protect people that couldn't protect themselves?" Cassie swung her legs forward at Ivan, connecting with his knee. "You'll pay for that," he grunted. He slashed at her face several times, catching her right cheek and eye several time. Cassie screamed in pain but then clamped her mouth shut, she decided during his torture of the child that she would not show anymore pain to this monster.

"I hope Laxus isn't too attached to you, because I'm going to kill you," she growled. Ivan simply laughed and moved out of range of the woman's legs before continuing the torture of the child that whimpered and screamed in his arms.

"You will break, bitch, even if I have to kill the child, you will break in front of me." He smirked as he watched her flinch, she had no talent for hiding her emotions. "And after you break, I will be the known as the most powerful wizard in Fairy Tail." He laughed and Cassie just shook her head.

"No," she said softly, trying, and failing, to contain the tremor in her voice. "Gramps will kick you out for this, first rule of Fairy Tail, dumb ass. Never intentionally hurt another guild member. I'm pretty sure this is fucking intentional." She flipped what hair she could out of her eyes.

"We'll see if you speak a word of what I've done after we're finished." He slit the child's throat, blood spraying over Cassie's clothes.

Cassie couldn't contain the whimper that escaped her throat and Ivan grinned. "I see I'm making progress." He stepped forward, dragging the flat of the blade over the snow dragon's porcelain skin, marring it with the child's blood. Cassie tried to hold her head up, stare the man down but couldn't hold in the whimper or the tears that streamed from her left eye. "I'm going to make you hurt now, bitch, but first," he grinned at her. "First I'm going to make you relive what I did to that girl a few times." He covered her face with his hand and allowed the spell to take hold. He laughed as, after a few replays the girl started to convulse. "So, repeating a traumatic experience is the key." He grinned and kept the repeat up until the fight had gone out of her.

**I'm only human/And I crash and I break down**

Cassie whimpered underneath the man's hand, tears flowing freely. She no longer fought for control as the memory of both the girls screams and her own pain kept replaying, over and over. She just let her body go slack and let the sobs wrack her body. Ivan laughed and removed his hand, stopping the repeating memory. He pulled her down from the tree and even removed the cuffs. Cassie trembled and whimpered as he meticulously placed cuts all over her body. "You're weak, can't even fight back," he sneered in her ear. He threw her to the ground and cackled as she lay there shaking in fear. "Now, to make sure that you never bear my son's children." He tore her shirt away from her abdomen, and shoved the knife in the approximate location of her reproductive organs. "And, a little parting gift." He sneered as he placed the magical marker in the torn and bloody flesh, just as Natsu appeared from no where and threw the man off of her.

Cassie looked up at the pink haired boy, then watched as Ivan fled with the body of the child he'd killed. _Sick fuck, _she thought, the vision in her good eye clouding from the loss of blood. "Little brother," she whispered. She turned her head as she heard more footsteps. Laxus came into her limited view and she whimpered. "Laxus, help." The blonde scooped her up and got her to Porlyusca's as quickly as he could, her passing out on the way there. Then, the loop began again, slowly eating away at her sanity.

**I can take so much/'Til I've had enough/'Cause I'm only human/And I bleed when I fall down/I'm only human/And I crash and I break down**

**AN: What did Ivan want with the body of the little girl? Will Laxus defeating Ivan and his guild end Cassandra's nightmare? Will there be anything left of her if it does?**

**Next time, on Lightning Strikes in Snow, Chapter 11 – Secrets. Until then, drop me a review. I love it when I open my e-mail to see that I have a new review.**

**~Wolfspirit21**


	11. Chapter 11: Carry On

**AN: I don't own shit, except Cassie, she's mine, everything else is not. Chapter Song: (changed to:) Carry On by Avenged Sevenfold. I decided to change the song, sorry, but Secrets will be next chapter.**

**Thank you so much for the reviews, I'm so glad people are actually liking this story and it really gets me motivated to write more and more(not to mention the ego boost I get when I read them). So keep them coming in guys, I probably would have given up a few chapters ago when I got stuck if it wasn't for my readers. On another note, we're celebrating 25 follows and 15 favorites this chapter so I'm trying to make this a pretty long. **

**Without further ado, the chapter...**

Chapter 11: Carry On

**Some people live out selfish desire/Some choose to shout when they speak and they'll be the star **

Laxus stood with his arms crossed watching Erza decimate the 100 monsters of Pandemonium. He fought the urge to go sit with Cassie, instead he just stood there glaring at his father's guild. Gajeel stood at the blonde's shoulder, sharing his glare at Raven Tail. They were well aware of their member, Obra, held back during the magic power test to place the remaining seven teams. The two looked over to the other team, seeing Natsu glaring as well and Wendy's face in a hard set, something that was so out of character for the small slayer that the two team B slayers looked at each other in shock. "Is she..." Gajeel trailed off.

"She's pissed, yeah, I'd know that expression on a woman's face anywhere," Laxus said laughing a little and shaking his head, that expression on Cassie's face rising into his mind's eye and his laugh died. Gajeel cringed and shook his shoulder a bit.

"Cassie will wake up, _bormah," _he said. Laxus nodded.

"Never pegged you for the comforting type, metal breath," he muttered, getting a small smile from the man next to him.

"I am for family, everyone else can shove it, lightning rod." Laxus opened his mouth to retort when the commentator's voice boomed through the arena.

"Now for our battles, first up from Raven Tail, Alexei, versus Laxus Dreyar of Fairy Tail Team B!" Laxus felt his blood run cold. _Well, I get to let off a little steam, _he thought as he turned to head down to the field. Gajeel reached out and grabbed his shoulder.

"Keep your head, man," he muttered. Laxus growled softly but nodded and continued down to the field.

He walked out, forcing himself to be calm as he stared down the man in the mask. The mascot didn't stay on the field long, but as the so called fight started, Laxus saw himself and the other guy fighting, even neither had moved. "An illusion," he said, glaring at the man across from him. "Just who exactly are you? You smell like nothing." Laxus even inhaled deeply and smelled absolutely nothing coming from the man. The man laughed at Laxus.

"You're still such a simple boy," he said and Laxus narrowed his eyes, the voice was familiar. The man removed his mask with a sigh and Laxus growled, lightning crackling over his skin.

"You bastard," he snarled at his father. Ivan simply laughed at his son.

"I'm sure we're all aware of who my father is," he said. "By the way, how is the old geezer?"

"He's fine," Laxus seethed, trying his hardest to contain his rage. Blind rage would not help him here. Ivan sneered at the blonde man in front of him, he wanted to send him over the edge and knew just how to do it.

"And what about the snow bitch? Cassidy, wasn't it?" He sneered at the man, who would always be a boy to him. A weak, pathetic excuse for his son.

"Cassandra, you fucking prick and you know how she is, don't you?" Laxus felt the rage bubbling under the surface. "You're the one who hurt her, you're the one that has hurt my mate over and over again." He started to pace like a caged animal, lightning continuing to crackle over his skin. "I should kill you where you stand."

"Then do it, weakling." Ivan cackled as Laxus growled. "You can't do it, weak fairy, even if it would save her..."

"_Faaz nah!(damn you)_" Laxus roared as he lunged forward. Ivan simply stepped to the side.

"She's always been your weak spot, boy, so easy to exploit." Laxus glared at the man but tried to focus himself, tried to push the rage down and think clearly. "By the way, I didn't directly cause her break down yesterday, though it was fun to hear her scream." The rage started bubbling up again, but Laxus decided to do something with it. Instead of suppressing it he used it to focus on the man in front of him. Laxus stared the man down and finally opened his mouth to speak.

"How do I get her back?" he grumbled out, better to keep his father talking.

"You leave Fairy Tail and join me." Ivan said it like it was the most simple thing ever.

"That's a little counter productive for me isn't it?" Laxus barked out a laugh and shook his head. "I'll settle for beating the shit out of you."

**Take back the passion to live, vanish the sorrow!/Destroy their perfect crime, watch the power fold  
**

Ivan started to laugh. "Foolish boy, look around you, you really are dense." Laxus looked around himself to see the rest of the Raven Tail team had joined them on the field. "And no one up there is the wiser," he cackled. Sure enough, when Laxus looked up he saw that no one took any notice of the entire Raven Tail team was on the field. Instead of fear, Laxus only felt anger, anger that he forced his mind to use to clear it.

"Cowards hide behind others," he growled and the lightning coated his body. "Besides you all deserve a beating for what you've done to my _ragnavir _and my guild mates." He grinned and began the beating, saving his father for last.

The illusion broke and he heard the crowd gasp as reality set in their minds. He heard Gajeel's and Natsu's growls but he just pummeled the members of Raven Tail then turned on his father, throwing him into the arena wall and laying into him. He used everything he had on Ivan, he felt the satisfying crunch of his father's bones as he beat him, until he felt a pair of small hands on his shoulder. "_Ganog, bormah. Dreh ni meyz riil ol pruzah.(Enough, father. Do not become a monster as well.)_" Wendy's voice reached his ears and Laxus returned to himself, looking down at the bloody mess that was his father. "Porlyusca called on the communication lacrima, Cassie is awake and scared because the connection between you two is still severed." Laxus nodded.

"_Nox hi, meydovah.(thank you, dragonling),_" he muttered and the small girl smiled at him, gently leading him out of the arena and to the infirmary.

**Search endlessly, fight 'til we're free!/Fly past the edge of the sea!/No bended knee!/No mockery!/Somehow we still carry on! **

**AN: And probably the shortest chapter to date but...idk this just wasn't coming out right anyway I tried to do it so, short crappy chapter is short and crappy. I just can't seem to do fight scenes very well and yeah, so won't be trying this again. Sorry to those who really want fight scenes it just doesn't want to happen. Anyways, next time is Chapter 12: Secrets. Until then.**

**~Wolfspirit21**


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